(LSRE)Review and sign the order

Review and sign the order

Who drafts the order?

After you appear in court, the other person (or their lawyer) will prepare an order that says what the judge or master decided. If there's a lawyer representing either of you, the court usually requires that the lawyer prepare the order, no matter who made the application. Ask for a chance to review and sign the order once the lawyer has written it and before it's given to the court registry.

If you disagree with the way the order was written, you can ask for a copy of the clerk's notes from the registry to compare what the judge or master said with what's been written in the order. If you still disagree, you can apply to have the order settled. This means that the court registrar will figure out what the order should say. Get legal advice if this happens.

Disagreeing with what was ordered isn't the same as disagreeing with how it was written down in the order. If you disagree with what was ordered, get legal advice as soon as possible. You need to know if you can apply to change the order or if an appeal would be appropriate.

If an appeal would be appropriate, there are important time limits to follow for filing it. If an appeal isn't appropriate, you'll need to decide if you want to go to trial. Appeals are only successful if there's a significant error in law, which doesn't happen very often in family Chambers applications. See Can you appeal an order? to find out more about appeals.

If you agree that the order as written or revised is correct, sign in the correct place on the last page of the order and return it to the person who sent it to you. Ask for a copy of the entered or filed order. Before you return the signed order, make a copy of it for your records.

Updated on 22 May 2019