FAMILY FOCUSED PROTOCOL (FPP)

What is the Family Focused Protocol?

As of January 2, 2026, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench initiated new mandatory procedural requirements for family law matters called the Family Focused Protocol. These new processes are intended to focus on the needs of families and to streamline family law matters to resolution. It is based on the recognition that the toxicity of adversarial litigation associated with the dissolution of family relationships causes significant damage to families. The objective of these new processes is to minimize the deleterious and long-term effects arising from high-conflict litigation, especially to children.

How does this affect my family law matter?

There are 3 separate procedural streams available depending on the nature of the family law issue(s) to be resolved:

The Regular Family Process;
The Desk Process; and
The Urgent Process.

The regular family process applies if there is a regular matter that requires assistance from the court.

The desk process is for matters that do not require attendance at court.

The urgent process is only for matters determined to be urgent by the court.

What is the regular family process?

1.Mandatory Requirements

The first step of the regular family process is fulfilling the mandatory requirements before gaining access to the courts. Completion of the mandatory requirements may be deferred when the matter is urgent or the court has granted a waiver or deferral.

Parenting After Separation (PAS)

Where there are children under the age of 18 years affected, any parent seeking relief from the court must complete the Parenting After Separation online course and obtain a Parenting After Separation certificate of completion within the last 2 years.

If there are no children and the parties require court assistance, completion of the PAS course is not required.

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Any party seeking any type of family law relief must have participated in an acceptable form of alternative dispute resolution process addressing all matters in issue within the last 6 months, unless the court grants a waiver or deferral of this requirement.

Financial disclosure should be exchanged prior to attending the ADR process.

What are acceptable ADR processes to fulfill this requirement?

Meeting with a qualified neutral third-party facilitator, such as a mediator, Resolution Counsel (RC) Meeting, four-way settlement meetings with counsel, and the collaborative family law process will satisfy the ADR requirement.

Negotiations between counsel or parties, such as exchanging settlement proposals, without more is insufficient to satisfy ADR requirement.

Disclosure

Any party seeking the assistance of the court with respect to child support, spousal support, adult interdependent partner support, or property division must have completed, filed, and served their Financial Disclosure Statement on the other party, including Cunningham/Sweezy disclosure regarding business expenses, where appropriate.

Meeting with a Family Court Counsellor (FCC)

Self-represented parties are required to meet with a Family Court Counsellor if they are bringing an application or cross application. Family Court Counsellors are available to support self-represented parties may also be of assistance if a self-represented party is served with court documents, such a Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Package.

2. Commencing an Action

A court action must be commenced and served before any party can seek relief (whether interim or final) from the court. An action may be commenced by filing a:

Statement of Claim for Divorce;
Statement of Claim for Division of Family Property;
Family Law Claim under the Family Law Act; or
Originating Application, where applicable.

(“Commencement Documents”)

The Commencement Documents must detail all the relief that may be requested from the court.

3. Filing Documents to Request Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Conference

The MIT Package is the package of documents that must be filed at court to schedule an MIT Conference, which is comprised of:

Proof of completion of the Mandatory Requirements, or a wavier or deferral of the Mandatory requirements granted by a Justice;

Commencement Document(s) and other pleadings filed in response, if any;

Request for Mandatory Intake Conference Form;

Mandatory Intake Triage Summary Form;

Financial Disclosure Statement, providing information not older than 6 months from the date the MIT Package is filed;

Family Application and supporting Affidavit that complies with Family Practice Note 2 of the Alberta Rules of Court, if any relief is requested at the MIT Conference; lastly,

Affidavits of Service for Commencement Documents and other pleadings and Financial Disclosure Statement if it was filed separately from the MIT Package.

An Affidavit of Service is also required for the MIT Package after it has been filed at Court and served upon the opposing party.

Once the MIT Package is served, the respondent has 14 days from the date of service to file and serve their response, application or cross application if any. The applicant then has 7 days to reply to the response and to respond to any application or cross application filed by the respondent. The respondent then has 7 days to serve a reply to the applicant’s response.

4. Case Management Officer (CMO) Review

The MIT Package is reviewed by the CMO 15 days after the Affidavit of Service of the MIT Package is filed to determine whether the MIT Package and the respondent’s materials, if any, will be certified, rejected or paused (to remedy deficiencies or provide a reply to the respondent’s materials if any).

5. Confirmation from CMO that MIT Package is Certified and Scheduling a MIT Conference

The CMO will inform a party (applicant, respondent or both) that their MIT Package has satisfied the requirements and is certified by email and will provide a link to book the MIT Conference. The MIT Conference is scheduled by submitting the Request for Mandatory Intake Conference (MIT) Form providing proposed, mutually agreeable dates, using the link provided.

A certified party may book the MIT Conference regardless of the status of the other party’s MIT Package.

The MIT Conference must be booked within 30 days of receiving certification of the MIT Package using the link provided, failing which the certification becomes void, and process set out at step 3 above must be started again. The MIT Package must be refiled and reserved on the opposing party, with a new affidavit of service to be filed to commence the recertification process.

6. Attending the MIT Conference

The parties attend the initial MIT Conference with an assigned Family Roster Justice. This is the Justice who will guide the case through the regular family process for resolution up until trial, except the Settlement Conference or where there is a conflict. A different Justice will conduct the Settlement Conference and another, different Justice will hear the trial if the parties are unable to reach resolution on all issues.

The MIT Conference is scheduled for 1 hour and takes place in a courtroom, on the record, at the Courthouse. The purpose is to grant relief (including interim, post-divorce judgment, procedural and some types of final relief) and prepare the parties for the Settlement Conference or to move forward in the process.

Functionally, the MIT Justice may:

Grant interim relief based on the applications brought by the parties, including but not limited to child support, spousal support, parenting, decision-making, advance costs, etc.;
Set procedural orders;
Grant orders with the consent of both parties;
Order PN7 or PN8 reports;
Appoint child’s counsel;
Assist parties in determining the need for appraisals, valuations, other professional assistance, further disclosure; etc.;
Refer matters directly to meet with Resolution Counsel to prepare a litigation plan or get set for trial;
Mediate;
Set the matter down for a streamline trial, when a party is noted in default and not participating in the process; lastly,
Assess accommodations or special needs for the Settlement Conference or next procedural step.

7. After the MIT Conference

The MIT Conference Report is sent to the parties by email. It will confirm any deadlines and grant leave for any further scheduling, such as a subsequent Case Conference or Settlement Conference.

Where no deadlines are set at the MIT Conference and the parties are ready to proceed to a Settlement Conference, they must complete and submit a Joint Request for Settlement Conference Date Form using the booking request link provided.

When deadlines are set at the MIT Conference and those deadlines have been met, the parties must complete and submit a Joint Request for Settlement Conference Date Form using the booking request link provided.

After the MIT Conference, the MIT Justice becomes the Case Conference Justice, who are one and the same.

After the MIT Conference, the parties may attend a Case Conference when the MIT Justice gives permission for the parties to attend a Case Conference in the MIT Report, which would be scheduled using the booking link provided.

A party may also request a Case Conference by submitting a Request for Meeting With Case Conference Justice Form, which will be considered and determined by the Case Conference Justice, who will issue an endorsement with the decision.

If an urgent matter arises after the MIT Conference, the Request for Meeting With Case Conference Justice Form must be submitted for consideration and determination by the Case Conference Justice.

8. Attending the Settlement Conference

A Settlement Conference occurs after all procedural orders have been fulfilled and full disclosure has been exchanged. The Settlement Conference is scheduled by submitting the Joint Request for Settlement Conference Date Form and once filed, completing and submitting the booking request form using the link provided.

When parties are unable to agree on the Joint Request for Settlement Conference Date Form, the parties must submit a Request for Meeting With Case Conference Justice Form, to seek direction from the Case Conference Justice.

The Settlement Conference is scheduled for 2.5 hours and may be conducted by the same MIT/Case Conference Justice only if both parties and the Justice agree. Otherwise, the Settlement Conference is conducted by a different Justice.

The Settlement Memorandum must be sent to the Case Conference Coordinator and served on the opposing party 14 days in advance of the scheduled Settlement Conference.

The Settlement Memorandum consists of:

a detailed list of the issues, including sub-issues, in dispute;
a statement of each party’s position on each issue and sub-issue;
a brief overview of the facts and evidence the party intends to rely upon in support of their position on each issue;
ChildView or DivorceMate support calculations for child support and spousal support and/or property distribution spreadsheet, as applicable;
Any case law intended to be relied upon in support of each issue, with no more than 2 cases for each issue.

The Settlement Conference may be binding if both parties and the Settlement Conference Justice all agree.

When all issues are resolved at the Settlement Conference, the resolution will be documented in court order(s) and/or a formal written agreement, as applicable.

9. Final Steps Before Trial: Litigation Plans, Rule 4.10 Case Conference and Pre-Trial Conferences

When one or more issues are not resolved at the Settlement Conference, the Settlement Conference Report will refer the parties to a 4.10 Case Conference with the Case Conference Justice, or when the parties are self-represented, they will be referred to Resolution Counsel to assist with developing a litigation plan.

Once the litigation plan is complete the, the Case Conference Justice may schedule a Pre-Trial Conference 90 days or more prior to the scheduled trial date to ensure trial readiness.

10. Trial

The parties would attend a Trial to determining any remaining issues in dispute.

The objective is to have the Trial scheduled within 18 months from the date of the Settlement Conference, acknowledging that many factors can result in delay.

The Trial is conducted by a Justice other than the Case Conference Justice and Settlement Conference Justice.

What is the Desk Process?

Under the Family Focused Protocol, certain matters are addressed through the desk application process, by a Family Roster Justice or any Justice of the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, as applicable.

A Family Roster Justice will handle the following desk process applications:

waiver/deferral requests for mandatory requirements;
request for Resolution Counsel meeting, after completion of PAS and exchange of financial disclosure;
time sensitive consent orders;
notice to disclose applications;
when no MIT/Case Conference Justice has been assigned, applications under Practice Note 2 requiring leave, such as exceeding page limits, extending deadlines for filings, adjournments, ect.

Any Justice may handle the following desk process applications:

desk divorce applications;
non-urgent-non-time sensitive consent orders;
other desk applications, such as pension division orders, etc.

What is the Urgent Process?

Parties seeking urgent requests for hearings must file the Urgent Request Form, together with their unfiled application and affidavit for review and consideration by a Family Desk Roster Justice. If the Family Roster Justice determines that the matter is urgent, it will be heard in Urgent Matters Chambers or Family Chambers on a designated date.

Urgent matters include the following:

orders where there is a risk of violence or immediate harm to one of the parties or a child, including applications for exclusive possession of a family home where these criteria are met;
orders where there is a risk of removal of a child from the jurisdiction;
emergency protection order reviews;
urgent orders relating to parenting time, contact or communication with a child which cannot reasonably be delayed.

How Can Kahane Law Office Help?

The family law lawyers at Kahane Law Office can help you navigate the Family Focused Protocol. We understand the process options for resolution and the importance of choosing the right one for you. Schedule an appointment with one of our family law lawyers by contacting our office today at 403-225-8810.

This publication is provided as an information service and may include items reported from other sources. We do not warrant its accuracy. This information is not meant as legal opinion or advice. This information may have changed from the date of publication, please contact Kahane Law Office for further information.

FAMILY FOCUSED PROTOCOL (FPP)