Make a consent order

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Learn the basics about family courts and laws in Alberta before you make a consent order.

Next, you or the other person must have started a court action.

You can do this in a few different ways:

• Schedule a court date: You can or may have already filed court documents to ask for a court order to resolve your issues. Before the court date, you and the other person can resolve these issues and make a consent order. Then, take your consent order to your scheduled court date and present it to the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta..
• File for divorce: Follow the process on the Get a divorce page to file a Statement of Claim for Divorce. Then you can ask the court to grant a consent order that resolves one or more issues described in your divorce claim.
• File a claim to divide your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.: Follow the process on the When you can’t agree how to divide your assets and debts page. Then you can ask the court to grant a consent order that resolves one or more issues described in your claim.

Prepare the order

The first step is for you and the other person to come to an understanding on one or more legal issues. You can do this by working together or with the help of a professional.

Once you come to an understanding, follow the tips below to prepare a consent order if you do not have a lawyer. If one of you has a lawyer, the lawyer should prepare the consent order.

Download a template

You must prepare the order using the right court form and following its specific format. If you change the format of the form, the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may refuse to grant the order. Typing your order is better than handwriting it.

Below are two templates, depending on which court you are in:

• Court of Justice consent order template
• Court of King’s Bench consent order template

Download CPLEA’s sample consent order (PDF) to get an idea of how to write one.

Don’t be surprised if the court does not use your version of the consent order and instead makes its own before granting it. Taking time to prepare a draft consent order still helps the court know what you have agreed to. The court may simply want the order in a different format before they grant it.

Fill out the essential details

Fill in the names of the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. and respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order..

If you have already filed court documents to apply for a court order to resolve the issues in the consent order, the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. on the consent order is the same applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. as on those court documents.

For example, if you filed a Claim – Family Law Act and a Statement – Child Support as the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. and scheduled a court date, and then you and the other person resolve your issues about child support in a consent order before that court date, you are the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. on the consent order and the other person is the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order..

If you have not already filed court documents to apply for a court order, choose one of you to be the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. and the other to be the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order..

For example, if you have only filed a Statement of Claim for Divorce and now you and the other person have resolved issues described in your claim about parenting, you can choose who is the applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. and who is the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order.. The applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. does not have to the person named as the plaintiffplaintiff The person who files a Statement of Claim with the court. on the Statement of Claim for Divorce.

Write the court file number and courthouse location (city or town), known as the judicial centre. Use the same court file number and courthouse as on your other documents.

Don’t write anything in the middle of the first page of the form, between the thick black lines. If the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. grants the order, they will fill out the date, location and their name.

Write in complete sentences as if the justice is talking

The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta., not you, will be making the order. Therefore, write the order as if they are talking and speaking to you. Write in complete sentences, not in point form or shorthand. When you are done, read the order out loud. It should read like you are the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. giving clear directions.

For example, write “The applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. agrees to pay ongoing section 3 child support in the amount of $400 per month to the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order. starting on January 1, 2024.” Do not write, “I agree to pay child support” or “Child support: $400”.

Be clear and specific

The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. must know exactly what you agree to. The court also has to know what you agreed to if you need to enforce the order later on because one person is not following it. This means the order must be very clear and specific.

For example, if you have an agreement about parenting time and decision-making authority, be specific about each parent’s role. If you have an agreement about child support, be specific about who is the payorpayor A person who pays money to another person. For example, a person who pays child support to the other parent., how much they are paying and when and how they are to pay the recipientrecipient A person who receives money from another person. For example, a person who receives child support from the other parent..

If you are varying (changing) an existing order, note the date of the existing order, what parts you are changing and if everything else stays the same. Remember, you must continue to follow the old order until the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. grants the new one.

Sign the order

Once you have finished writing the order, you and the other person must both sign it. This confirms you consent to what is in the order. However, the order is not effective until a justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. grants it in court.

If you do not have a lawyer, someone must witness you sign the order. That person must swearswear To promise something is true before God. For example, to swear an affidavit means to promise before God that its contents are true./affirmaffirm To promise something is true and binding on your conscience. It is a non-religious option. For example, to affirm an affidavit means to promise its contents are true. an Affidavit of Execution before a Commissioner for OathsCommissioner for Oaths A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used in Alberta only. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths that will be used in Alberta. to confirm they witnessed you sign the order. You and the other person can sign the form in front of the same witness or separate witnesses.

Download an Affidavit of Execution template for your witnesses.

You must attach the Affidavit of Execution to the order. If neither of you has a lawyer, there should be two Affidavits of Execution attached to the order – one for each of you.

Go to court

Arrange a time to go to court together

If one of you doesn’t have a lawyer, you should go to court together. The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may have questions for you about the order or your situation.

Figure out when and where to go

If you are using the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton or Calgary, you can ask for a consent order during Family Docket Court. If you already have a scheduled court date, you can go to court on that day and present your consent order to the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta..

For all other situations, you must go to court during ChambersChambers Courtrooms that are open to the public with many people present where a justice can hear many cases and grant court orders. The people in a case have 20 minutes or less to speak with the justice and ask for a court order. to ask the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. to grant the order. You do not have to schedule this court appearance, you can simply show up.

Both the Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench have ChambersChambers Courtrooms that are open to the public with many people present where a justice can hear many cases and grant court orders. The people in a case have 20 minutes or less to speak with the justice and ask for a court order.. It is a time when the court grants orders about procedural issues, including consent orders. Each person only has a few minutes to tell the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. what they are asking for. Ask a court clerk or contact Court and Justice Services to find out when ChambersChambers Courtrooms that are open to the public with many people present where a justice can hear many cases and grant court orders. The people in a case have 20 minutes or less to speak with the justice and ask for a court order. are for the court you are going to.

Talk to the court clerk before court starts

Arrive in court early so you can talk to the court clerk before the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. arrives. Let them know you are asking for a consent order. They will give you further instructions about anything else you need to do before talking to the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta..

Speak to the justice

Once the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. arrives in the courtroom, they will often ask if anyone has “ex parteex parte A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.” or “without noticewithout notice A court appearance where the applicant does not have to serve court documents or give notice about the court date beforehand to the respondent.” applications or consent orders. Lawyers will usually jump up first. Take your turn as you see fit and before the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. starts dealing with cases that are scheduled to be heard that day. It is good etiquette to allow lawyers to speak first, but it is also hard to know who is waiting.

Tell the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. that you are asking for a consent order. Hand your copies of the order to the court clerk, who will give them to the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta.. The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may ask you a few questions before they decide whether to grant the order.

The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. can grant the order as is, change it as they see fit or refuse to grant it. If the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. refuses to grant the order, they may tell you why. You may have to make changes to the order and come back.

Learn more about how to behave in court on the Before you go to court page.

Copy, file and serve your order

The applicantapplicant The person who applies for a court order. named in the order must copy, file and serve the order on the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order..

Once the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. grants the order, make two copies of it. Then take the original and the two copies to the courthouse for filing. The court will keep the original and give you the two copies, each with a stamp on them. Then serve a copy of the filed order on the respondentrespondent The person who responds to the applicant’s request for an order..

Both of you should have a filed copy of the order so you know what to do.