Separation often begins with difficult personal decisions, but the questions that follow are practical. Where will the children live? Who will remain in the family home? How should support be paid? How will property and debt be divided? When those issues cannot be resolved out of court, the next question is how to ask the Court for help. Before downloading a court form, it is important to understand the Alberta family court process and how that affects the path ahead.
First, where does the MIT fit into Alberta’s new family court process?
The Family Focused Protocol (FFP) is the framework now used for family proceedings in Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench. It is intended to move families through the Alberta family court process in a more structured way, with an emphasis on early preparation, meaningful opportunities for resolution and a clear path toward trial when settlement is not possible. It provides three routes, depending on the kind of help your circumstances require:
- The Urgent Process is for matters meeting the Court’s urgency criteria, such as a risk of violence, immediate harm or a child being removed from the jurisdiction. Raise these concerns promptly rather than waiting to complete the ordinary steps.
- The Desk Process allows certain requests to be decided on written documents without appearing before a judge. Examples include suitable uncontested divorces, agreed orders and requests to waive or postpone a preliminary requirement.
- The Regular Family Process is for families who need the Court to make decisions on unresolved issues and guide their case towards a final resolution. One of its central stages is a Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) conference, an early hearing where an assigned Justice addresses immediate interim needs and directs how the case should move forward.
Our earlier overview explains the broader changes introduced by the FFP. This article focuses on the Regular Family Process and preparing for a MIT conference. Whether you are bringing a request or responding to one, below are the ten points below explain what to prepare, the deadlines to watch, the common mistakes to avoid, and what to expect at each stage.
One important distinction to be made at the outset is that FFP applies to the Court of King’s Bench, not the Alberta Court of Justice. The Court of Justice has different procedures and its own preliminary requirements in applicable locations. Accordingly, the Court named on any documents you produce or receive should always be confirmed.
1. Get your factual ducks in a row before starting on the Court forms
One of the easiest mistakes to make is starting with paperwork before identifying the problem you actually need the Court to solve.
Begin with writing a short chronological summary of where things presently stand. From current arrangements, what has already been agreed upon, what remains disputed, and which issues require immediate attention as opposed to those that can be addressed later.
Be specific. If parenting is disputed, think beyond saying that the current arrangement is not working. What schedule are you proposing? How would exchanges work? What happens with school, childcare and activities? If support is disputed, identify what is currently being paid, what you believe should be paid and what financial information is missing.
The practical lesson is simple: know what you want the Court to do before deciding which form to complete.
2. Gather Financial records, not estimates
Financial disclosure is often where the hidden work of a family case begins. If support or property is in issue, the Court expects documents that allow the parties and the Court to understand the financial picture.
The Court requires the current financial information provided to be reasonably up to date and properly filed and served on the opposing party. Your Financial Disclosure Statement and current income information cannot simply be prepared once and forgotten if the case takes time to reach MIT. Your financial disclosure documents must be no more than six months old when the MIT package is filed.
Start by reviewing the Financial Disclosure Statement (Form CTS13472) and gathering your complete personal income tax returns, including schedules and slips, and Notices of Assessment or Reassessment for the three most recent tax years, plus your three most recent pay statements if employed. Depending on the issues, bank records, investments, pensions, mortgages, debts and business records may also be required.
A common mistake is providing only Notices of Assessment. Those documents do not replace the underlying tax returns or permitted CRA Proof of Income documents. Where returns are unavailable, ask about the Canada Revenue Agency’s Proof of Income documents permitted by the Court and flag anything that is missing.
A useful approach is to create one financial folder, organize documents by year and account, and identify what is missing. If an accountant or bookkeeper prepares your taxes, ask for copies of the complete returns that were actually filed, including the schedules and slips.
Do not wait until you are ready to file the MIT package before beginning this work.
3. Complete the preliminary requirements upfront and keep the proof
Before a party seeking relief can usually proceed through the Regular Family Process, several preliminary requirements must be addressed.
If your matter affects children under the age of 18, you will generally need to complete the Parenting After Separation online course and obtain a Parenting After Separation Certificate. The Certificate remains valid for two years from the date you complete the course.
Where financial relief is sought, the financial disclosure referred to above in point 3 is mandatory.
A party seeking any type of relief must also generally have participated in an appropriate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, such as mediation, generally addressing all outstanding issues within the previous six months. An exchange of settlement emails alone does not qualify. The ADR process must address the unresolved issues, not simply one convenient part of the case. If parenting, support and property remain unresolved, participating in mediation about parenting alone may not satisfy the requirement for the remaining issues.
Keep your course certificate and completed Participation in Alternative Dispute Resolution form as proof of completion.
Self-represented persons applying without a lawyer must also meet with a Family Court Counsellor where that service is available, unless the Court has excused that requirement.
4. Ask for help when the other party will not cooperate
A former spouse refusing to mediate or provide information can understandably create the impression that nothing can move forward.
If the other party refuses to participate in dispute resolution, document your reasonable attempts to arrange it. Keep the invitations, proposed dates and responses. Their refusal does not automatically eliminate the requirement. You will then need to make a formal request that the Court waive (excuse) the requirement or defer (postpone) it until later.
A formal request is not merely accomplished by explaining the problem in an email to the Court. There is a formal Desk Process, including the Request to Waive or Defer Mandatory Requirements (Form CTS13474), together with the other required materials. As of August 10, 2026, a person seeking a waiver must also provide the respondent with a copy of the filed application materials.
Do not assume the opposing party’s refusal to cooperate means your case cannot move forward. Document the problem and determine what procedural step is available to address it.
5. Your MIT package is more than one or two forms
Before seeking relief through the Regular Alberta Family Court Process, the appropriate underlying court action must be filed and served. Depending on the case, that may involve a Statement of Claim, a Family Law Claim or an Originating Application.
The MIT package then brings the necessary pieces together. The Request for Mandatory Intake Conference (Form CTS14867) asks for the hearing, while the Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Summary (Form CTS14868) explains the family’s circumstances and outstanding issues. If you want the Justice to make an order, a Family Application (FL18), and the appropriate supporting evidence will be required.
The MIT forms are important, but on their own, do not replace the evidence or Court documents required to properly request the order you want. Do not make the mistake of relying only on the MIT forms to seek relief. The Court has specifically identified incomplete financial disclosure and requests for relief that are not properly supported by the underlying commencement documents as common reasons an MIT package may fail the compliance review.
6. Remember – filing, service, and proof of service are three different steps
This distinction is often misunderstood, yet each step is essential to moving the MIT process forward. Understanding the difference can help prevent unnecessary delays.
Filing places documents on the Court’s official record. Service means formally delivering them to the other party using an authorized method. After the MIT package is filed and served, an Affidavit of Service, a sworn or affirmed record of delivery, must also be filed before the Court’s document review can proceed.
Do not assume that because a document exists somewhere in the court file, the MIT Justice will automatically have it in front of them. These are separate steps. Ask what has actually been completed, not simply whether the paperwork has been sent.
7. If you are served with a MIT package, the clock has already started
This is one of the most important points for a respondent to understand.
To have your response included in the initial Case Management Officer’s (CMO) document review and placed before the assigned MIT Justice, file and serve it within 14 days from the date the MIT package is served. Record when and how you received it and seek advice promptly. Your response generally includes your own MIT Summary, appropriate responding evidence and proof of service.
A response filed after the 14-day period will not receive that CMO review, and whether the MIT Justice considers the late materials is discretionary.
If you want the Court to make orders of your own, rather than simply refusing what the applicant wants, you may need to bring a cross-application. That distinction matters. If a cross-application is filed in time, the applicant generally has seven days to respond, followed by a further seven days for any required reply.
If you have been served, do not wait for the hearing date before getting advice.
8. Treat a CMO review email as a task list, not a judgment
A Case Management Officer (CMO) checks the materials provided for procedural compliance. This review is not a decision about who should win. Read the instructions and act within any correction deadline.
The package may be certified, meaning it is ready to proceed, rejected, meaning the deficiencies require the MIT process to restart, or snoozed for seven or 15 days so identified problems can be corrected or response materials completed.
Read the CMO checklist carefully. It should tell you what needs attention.
Common problems include incomplete or outdated financial disclosure and problems with the commencement or application documents.
Another practical point: the CMO email address used for these notices is a no-reply address. Do not simply respond to the automated email with additional documents. Corrections must be submitted through the proper filing process.
Once you receive the certification email confirming compliance, submit the booking request within 30 days. That is a booking deadline, not a promise of a hearing within 30 days. Missing it means resubmitting and serving the package again.
9. Prepare for MIT as a hearing, not an informal meeting
The word “triage” can make MIT sound less significant than it is.
An MIT conference is generally a one-hour court hearing. Depending on the applications and evidence, the Justice may grant interim relief, make procedural orders, direct reports, appoint counsel for a child, identify further evidence that is required and give other directions appropriate to the case. This is why preparation should be focused.
Before the hearing, you should be able to answer three questions:
- What order do I need?
- Why is it needed now?
- What filed evidence supports it?
That focus matters because more material does not necessarily make a stronger case. Under the current Family Practice Note 2, an opening affidavit is generally limited to five pages, while exhibits are generally limited to 25 pages without permission. The Court ordinarily considers evidence contained in the properly filed affidavit or statement. For that reason, a phone containing hundreds of text messages is not a substitute for organized, relevant evidence placed before the Court in the proper form.
A strong presentation usually does three things well: it identifies the issue, proposes a practical solution, and directs a MIT Justice to the evidence that explains why that solution is appropriate.
10. Use MIT to set the direction for what comes next
At the conclusion of MIT, the Court issues a MIT Conference Report setting out the next steps. The MIT Justice ordinarily becomes the family’s Case Conference Justice, providing continuity as the matter moves forward.
At this point, turn the MIT Justice’s directions into a task list. Complete any required disclosure, reports, assessments, or other preparation within the deadlines given. Further applications for temporary orders are restricted to exceptional circumstances, so address your immediate needs when preparing for MIT. Any settlement needs to be properly documented and carried out. Unresolved issues usually move toward a settlement conference, where a different judge helps the parties work toward agreement, or further preparation for trial.
The important point is that MIT is not designed simply to produce another court date. It is intended to establish what needs to happen next and move the family toward a resolution.
You do not need to do everything today
The Alberta Family Court process can look intimidating when reduced to acronyms, forms and deadlines. The process becomes more manageable when it is broken into stages.
Start with writing down the issues that need to be resolved, gather your existing supporting documents, note all important dates and immediate priorities. Keep personal records in a secure folder. You do not need a complete court package before seeking advice. In many cases, speaking with counsel before completing forms can prevent unnecessary work, missed requirements and avoidable filing problems.
At BDL Family Law LLP, we help clients identify the right next step, prepare their materials and advocate for their interests.
If you have been served with a MIT package, are considering bringing an application, or are unsure where your matter fits within the new FFP process, contact our office to arrange a consultation about your circumstances.
Written by: Samuel Escobar, Family Lawyer at BDL Family Law LLP
This article is a starting point, not a complete filing guide or legal advice. Use the Court’s current FFP resources and obtain legal advice about the forms, deadlines and court directions that apply to your case.
