Modest Changes to Supreme Court Rules and Forms

Pursuant to an Order in Council made on 29 March 2012, certain changes to the Supreme Court Family Rules and the forms prescribed by the rules will come into effect on 25 April 2012. The changes are minor and aim to clean up a few of the court forms and make it easier to schedule Trial Management Conferences.

• Rule 14-3 will be amended to allow judges or masters to conduct Trial Management Conferences. Under the current rule, only judges may hear these conferences.
• Forms F37 and F38, the affidavits used in the desk order divorce process, will require you to delete unnecessary text, including the instructions provided in the forms.
• Forms F51 (Order Made After Application), F52 (Final Order), F54 (Restraining Order) and F85 (Order for Indigent Status) will require you to delete unnecessary text, including the instructions provided in the forms.

Order in Council 192 has not yet been published. A summary and explanation of the changes can be found in the Supreme Court's announcement of 3 April 2012.

I will update the court form templates and sample forms available on my website before the changes take effect. The orders can be found in the chapter Resources & Links > The Courts in the Supreme Court section; the affidavits can be found after my description of the do-it-yourself divorce process in Marriage & Divorce > Divorce.