4. Go to court
Question & Answer
What if my partner says they’re going to take our child away from me?Going to court can be a complicated process and it can take a lot of time. It can be stressful and expensive, but it is sometimes necessary to decide your issues.
If you need an order quickly, you may be able to bring a . This means that you ask a judge to decide specific issues before a trial. The result is usually a . This order lasts for a certain period of time, or until it is replaced by an agreement or another order.
You can bring a motion to get a in a few different ways:
- a regular motion
- an urgent motion with notice to your partner
- an emergency or without notice to your partner
Regular motion
You might want to bring a motion to ask the court to make an order that:
- limits your partner’s to a few hours at a time, or none at all
- gives your partner only or
- prevents your partner from removing the children from the province or country, which is called a
Usually, you have to wait until after you’ve had a before you can bring a regular motion.
See Step 3 in What if I need a court order quickly to deal with partner abuse issues? for more information on regular motions.
Urgent or emergency motion
There are 2 types of motions that you can bring in very few situations if you need a temporary order urgently:
- an urgent motion with notice to your partner
- an emergency or ex parte motion without notice to your partner
The difference between these 2 types of motions is whether you give your partner notice. Notice means that you your partner with your court documents for the motion and they have a chance to respond before a judge makes a decision.
If you bring a motion before you have had a case conference or before you start a case, you have to show the court why you could not wait to bring your motion until after a case conference.
See Step 2 in What if I need a court order quickly to deal with partner abuse issues? for more information on urgent motions.
