Read the application carefully
You'll need
- The applicant's completed documents:
- Notice of Application (Form F31)
- Affidavit (Form F30)
- Financial Statement (Form F8), if support is an issue
The date and time for the hearing will be written on the Notice of Application. Put this on your calendar. You won't get any further notice of the hearing date.
Read the Notice of Application, Affidavit, and Financial Statement carefully to understand what the applicant's asking for.
You must respond to the application within 14 business days from the time you're served with these documents. (If you receive the documents after 4 pm, calculate the 14 days from the next business day.) If you don't respond, the other person can continue with the application and will appear at the court hearing without you. The judge can make orders in your absence.
If the applicant doesn't arrange a Judicial Case Conference (JCC) before making their court application, you might want to consider arranging one. A JCC is optional when you're applying to change an order, but having one can save you time and money. The JCC gives you and the other person the opportunity to sit down with the judge and either resolve your case without going to court, or help you to prepare for the court hearing. For more information on JCCs, see Judicial Case Conferences in Supreme Court.
Even if you'd like to have a JCC before the hearing, you still need to respond to the application in time or ask the applicant to postpone the hearing until after the JCC.
Updated on 22 May 2019