British Columbia family court process
Procedure in the two courts that hear family cases in British Columbia — the Provincial Court, under the Provincial Court Family Rules (B.C. Reg. 120/2020) as amended by B.C. Reg. 17/2026, and the Supreme Court, under the Supreme Court Family Rules (B.C. Reg. 169/2009). Each page describes what the rules provide and cites them.
How a Provincial Court family case starts
The full sequence — early resolution registry vs parenting education program registry, the Rule 10 steps, the Form 3 application, personal service under Rule 27, the Form 6 reply and its 30-day deadline, and the family management conference under Part 4.
Read → Provincial CourtWhat happens at a Family Management Conference
Part 4 deep dive — purpose under Rule 36, who attends, what the court may consider under Rule 46, interim and consent orders, and the Rule 56 next-step crossroads if the case does not settle.
Read → Provincial CourtWhat happens at a Family Settlement Conference
Part 8 deep dive — conducted by a judge only under Rule 105, what Rule 108 lets the judge do including a non-binding opinion on probable outcome, whether the conversation is confidential, and why the settlement judge is generally not the trial judge.
Read → Provincial CourtSetting a family trial: issues, witnesses and what to prepare
Trial readiness — what a Rule 56 direction toward trial does and does not settle, how to map each unresolved issue to facts, evidence, documents and witnesses, how court time is estimated, and the Form 22 and Rule 112 steps that still lie ahead.
Read → Supreme CourtHow a Supreme Court family case starts
The full sequence — the Form F3 notice of family claim under Rule 4-1, personal service under Rule 6-3, the Form F4 response and its 30-day deadline, the Form F5 counterclaim, the Rule 5-1 financial disclosure clock, and the judicial case conference that Rule 7-1 (2) requires before most applications.
Read → Both courtsHow to write an affidavit
The facts-only rule in both BC courts — Supreme Court Family Rule 10-4 and Provincial Court Family Rule 171. What gets struck or ignored, when you may write what someone else told you, how exhibits are marked, and the 25-page limit under Practice Direction FAM 13.
Read →More process topics
This branch is being built out. The Family Management Conference page covers Part 4; topics planned next include what happens after a judicial case conference, and the routes to a hearing or trial in each court. Procedural pages are published only once every step in them has been checked against the current rules.
Related
The forms themselves are covered in the forms branch, and the financial statements in their own section — this branch covers the procedure that connects them.