Special Service of a Court Application in Ontario

Once the claimant has filed his/her court application, the application must be immediately served on every other relevant party to the proceeding.

The method of service of the court application on all other parties in family law matters is predominantly “special service.”

Special service can take effect in four ways:

• By leaving a copy with the opposing party/respondent;
• By leaving a copy with the opposing party/respondent’s lawyer of record, or alternatively, with a lawyer who accepts service in writing on the document;
• By mailing a copy to the opposing party/respondent and having the respondent send back a signed form referred to as an “acknowledgement of service;" and,
• By leaving a copy at the opposing party/respondent’s home with someone who appears to be an adult and mailing another copy to the same address that same day or the next.

In cases where the opposing party/respondent cannot be served through special service, there are three other ways of serving the respondent:

• If the applicant does not know of the whereabouts of the respondent, counsel for the applicant can apply for substituted service;
• If the applicant reasonably believes that substituted service would also fail, then the applicant can apply to have service “dispensed” with; and,
• If the applicant has served the application by means of service which has not been approved by the court, however the court is convinced that the respondent accepted, the court can “validate” an “irregular” service.

To learn more about special service as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.