PART 1 – REGULAR FAMILY PROCESS APPLICATION
On January 2, 2026, the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta launched a series of new processes. If you are entering the system for the first time you will be assigned a Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Justice who will meet with you to assess and deal with any interim issues in your family/divorce matter. The process is called Family Focused Protocol (FFP).
There are 3 types of processes:
i. Regular Family Process Applications (seeking decisions on all issues which are non-urgent and which cannot be dealt with through a desk application process);
ii. Desk Applications Process (specific contested legal issues and consented to matters being submitted through the required desk application process);
iii. Urgent Applications Process (including risk of violence or harm, removal of child from jurisdiction, matters relating to parent and child that cannot reasonably be delayed,
urgent issues on interim property and urgent issues of support.
We are experienced in dealing with each of these matters and so let us here at Family Central Law assist you in the right direction given your legal matter.
REGULAR FAMILY PROCESS APPLICATIONS
In this process you are looking for the Courts to assist you in a non-urgent contested matter, where interim relief is appropriate.
To qualify for this process, you must have filed a Commencement of an Action; when you book your e consultation with Family Central Law, we can discuss how we plan to assist you in preparing your commencing documents, and ensuring that it is filed and served properly without error.
Now that you have started your action, unless your matter is urgent or a waiver is obtained, all parties are required to complete the Family Justice Strategy Mandatory Requirements:
i. Parenting After Separation Seminar (PAS);
ii. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); and
iii. Financial Disclosure.
Once the above is completed, if you are still seeking interim or final relief by the Court, you must file and serve, in accordance with Appendix A, a Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) package, which consists of:
i. Proof of compliance with the Family Justice Strategy Mandatory Requirements;
ii. Commencement Document filed and served;
iii. Complete the Request for Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) Conference From and MIT Summary Form; and
iv. If interim relief is sought, an Application and supporting Affidavit/Statements, filed and served.
Now that your MIT package has been successfully filed, it must be served on the Respondent, and an Affidavit of Service must be filed. If you have been served with a MIT package, contact us today and we will help guide you through your next steps.
Before your matter can be seen by a Justice, this first must been reviewed by a Case Management Officer (CMO), who will carefully review all the contents that has been filed with the Courts under that specific action number.
If your package is rejected, you will either receive a complete rejection notice or a notification with deadlines outlining the required corrections. Both rejections can cause delay in your matter being heard. This is why having a law firm who understands the process can be of great assistance, reassuring you that your matter is handled with care and with the awareness of time sensitivity in mind.
After the CMO has reviewed your MIT package, you should receive from the CMO a notification of successful certification of compliance. You may now will have the opportunity to schedule a one-hour Mandatory Intake Triage Conference (MIT Conference). Kindly note you have a time limit of 30 days to schedule your MIT conference.
Preparing for your MIT Conference will require you to be available and free of distraction on the day the MIT Conference is scheduled. Should you be out of the jurisdiction on the day a remote hearing can be approved but only in advance by the court appearance.
The outcome of the MIT Conference is never a certainty. The presiding Justice may:
i. Grant interim relief;
ii. Make procedural orders;
iii. Order reports pursuant to Practice Notes including PN7 and/or PN8 Interventions;
iv. Appoint Child’s Counsel;
v. Assist the parties in determining the need for expert reports or other reports, along with any relevant evidence needed to ensure a meaningful Settlement Conference;
vi. Require the engage of further Alternative Dispute Resolution (mediation); and
vii. Grant any other Order or make any other direction that is appropriate in the circumstance.
Once your interim relief has been decided, unless all issues have been resolved, you will receive a MIT Report which will direct you to schedule a Settlement Conference either immediately or upon completion of the terms in the procedural order.
Once your Settlement Conference date is set, you may have materials that are required to be submitted. Once they are received a Justice will review them prior to your Settlement Conference. All settlement Conferences will take place in either a courtroom, or a boardroom, as determined by the Settlement Conference Justice. Remote hearings will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances. If you and your ex-partner consent, you may request to the MIT Justice for the Settlement Conference to be binding.
A Settlement Conference Report has been provided to you and filed on your court file (unless an issue is resolved), the discussions during the Settlement Conference remain confidential and are not included in the report. Your next steps will be to preparing a Consent Litigation Plan Order, or, if applicable, a streamline trial order.
If there are still issues and your matter requires the need to proceed to trial, you must first schedule a pre-trial conference with your assigned Case Conference Justice with a minimum of 90 days out from your scheduled trail date.
The new Family Focused Protocol and Mandatory Intake Triage (MIT) process can be daunting for clients with unresolved family law issues. At Family Central Law we have extensive experience navigating complicated family matters, and we work to simplify and resolve these for our clients.
At Family Central Law Office, you can rely on experienced family lawyers to provide sound legal advice on your family law matters. Please contact us today for a free consultation with our family lawyers by calling our office at 1-866-278-4187, or emailing info@familycentrallaw.com, or by clicking on our consultation page.
