How to answer an Application

What is it for?

An Answer tells the court which claims you agree with, which you dispute, and what orders you want. It is the ordinary response when someone starts a family Application against you.

What it can and cannot do

What an Answer can and cannot do: It puts your response and your own claims before the court. It does not itself schedule a motion, prove contested facts at a hearing, or replace financial and parenting material the rules require.

Forms to use and what to put in them

Form 10 Answer responds to each claim: say what you agree with, what you dispute, the material facts supporting your position, and exactly which orders you ask for. Address each claim rather than attaching an unorganized narrative. If you make a parenting claim, add Form 35.1 and any required Form 35.1A. Financial claims may require the applicable Form 13 or 13.1 and Rule 13 disclosure. After service, the server completes Form 6B. Form 10A is the applicant’s limited Reply to a claim in the Answer, not your next automatic filing.

How to prepare

1. Read the Application and note the service date.Identify every claim and the court named on the documents. The usual deadline is 30 days after service in Canada or the U.S.; it is 60 days if served outside both. Special proceedings can have different deadlines.
2. Prepare Form 10 Answer.Respond to the applicant’s claims and include any claims you want the court to decide against the applicant. Rule 10 also permits a claim against another person, who then becomes a respondent; adding a person brings extra service and response steps.
3. Check the documents that go with your claims.If your Answer includes a claim about decision-making responsibility, parenting time, or contact, read the Rule 35.1 guide on parenting claim affidavits. Financial claims may require a financial statement and supporting disclosure under Rule 13.
4. Serve every other party and file the Answer.Follow the applicable service method, file proof of service, and check the current filing instructions for your court. Keep copies and the filing confirmation.
5. Watch for a Reply.A party may serve and file Form 10A within 10 days of being served with an Answer, in response to a claim made in it. A Reply is not another Answer or a general extra round of argument.

Ontario and Ottawa filing steps

Ottawa’s September 2025 local notice places an Answer and other pleadings in the Justice Services Online filing stream. The current Superior Court provincial direction expects online filing, while allowing self-represented people to file by email or at the counter. Keep the court’s acceptance confirmation: submitting a document is not the same as having it accepted for filing. Court staff upload accepted documents to Case Center for self-represented people in the East Region before trial.

Provincial family filing direction ↗ · Ottawa local notice ↗

From preparation to the court date

1. Receive and date the Application.Read the claims, court location, and any first appearance information. Work backward from the Rule 10 Answer deadline and any case order.
2. Prepare and serve before filing.Serve Form 10 and required accompanying documents on every other party by a permitted Rule 6 method. A lawyer of record is generally the address for regular service.
3. Prove and file.Have the server complete Form 6B, then file the Answer, required accompanying forms, and proof through the applicable Ontario channel. Ottawa’s local notice lists pleadings for Justice Services Online; the provincial direction allows self-represented filing by email or counter. Keep acceptance, not just submission, confirmation.
4. Watch the next step.The applicant may serve and file Form 10A Reply within 10 days after service of your Answer. Follow the court’s first appearance or conference scheduling directions; filing an Answer does not itself book a motion or require Form 14C or 17F confirmation.

Rule at this step: Rule 10 controls the Answer and Reply; Rule 6 controls service; Rule 13 and Rule 35.1 may add documents. Rule 9 avoids re-serving something already in the record.

Timeline for serving and filing

1. Day you receive the Application.Record the date and method of service. Read every claim and any court order. Rule 10 ordinarily starts your Answer period from service.
2. Within 30 days (or 60 days if served outside Canada and the U.S.).Serve Form 10 Answer on every other party and file it. Include applicable Form 35.1 parenting material and Rule 13 financial disclosure with your Answer. Check special proceedings and any order for different timing.
3. After service: prove it and check acceptance.Complete Form 6B Affidavit of Service and file the required proof. Keep the court’s acceptance confirmation; sending material online does not itself mean it was accepted.
4. Within 10 days after the Answer is served.The applicant may serve and file Form 10A Reply to a claim made in the Answer. Watch for that response and any directions for the next event.

These are the ordinary Rule 10 periods. Rule 3 explains how days are counted; a case-specific order or special proceeding may change the sequence. Check the current Family Law Rules ↗

Hot points to remember

• Count from service: The ordinary 30-day period begins when the Application is served, not when you first hear about the case. Rule 3 governs time calculations.
• Form 10 is the ordinary Answer: Other Answer forms listed in Rule 10 are for particular proceedings, including child protection and other Child, Youth and Family Services Act matters.
• Parenting claims need another step: Rule 35.1 explains the accompanying affidavit and when Form 35.1A applies.
• Respond to the claims actually made: Form 10A is a reply to a claim in the Answer. Check Rule 10(6) before assuming another pleading is available.

Where are the page and evidence limits?

There is no general Form 10 page cap in the cited Superior Court practice direction. If you later bring a motion or prepare a conference brief, use that event’s separate affidavit, exhibit, or brief limits. Include only relevant material and check any order.

Scope of this guide

This page is for an ordinary Application in an Ontario family case, with an Ottawa Superior Court focus. Special proceedings and court orders can change the steps. Read the current rules and the forms that match your case.