ontario specific
legal information
The Family Law Rules set out the types of documents that must be filed before each court conference. The judge’s first impression of the case will come from the conference briefs. As a result, it is important for them to be well-prepared.
Rule 17(13) requires each party to file a brief before a case, settlement, or trial management conference. Financial statements or updates to previously filed financial statements may also be necessary (Rule 13(12)).
Failure to file a 17F (NOTE: Change as of July 1, 2018 to the form required, formerly 14C) can result in the case being moved to the bottom of the docket (the list of matters to be heard by a judge on a particular day) or removed from the docket.
Conference briefs are not added to your court file (Continuing Record), so if you raise any new issues or ask for anything new in your conference brief, you need to also add it to your original Application or Answer, which you can do by writing an affidavit.