1. Purpose: what this process aims to do
Rule 12 lets a party stop pursuing all or part of an Application, Answer or Reply. It also lets the court, on motion, combine related cases, claims or issues, or split them where more convenient. A separate branch covers splitting a divorce claim from the remaining issues.Check: Family Law Rules — 12
What it can and cannot do
A partial withdrawal leaves other claims in place. A notice of withdrawal does not itself rewrite the claims you continue to pursue or decide the remaining issues. Combining or splitting is not automatic: it requires a motion and a court order. A request to hear parenting issues for different children separately, for example, depends on whether separate treatment makes practical sense in the actual case.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
Which route do you need?
- Change a pleading while still pursuing a claim: see Changing an Application or Answer (Rule 11).Check: Family Law Rules — 11
- Stop pursuing all or part of a pleading: Rule 12(1), using Form 12, with the costs consequence in Rule 12(3).Check: Family Law Rules — 12(1), 12(3)
- Combine related matters or split an issue: ask the court on motion under Rule 12(5).Check: Family Law Rules — 12(5)
- Separate the divorce claim: ask the court on motion under Rule 12(6).Check: Family Law Rules — 12(6)
- Change a final order after the case: see Rule 15, Motion to Change.Check: Family Law Rules — 15
2. Forms and documents you need
| Document | When you need it | What to include |
|---|---|---|
| Form 12 — Notice of WithdrawalCheck: Official family forms — Form 12 — Notice of Withdrawal | Stopping all or part of an Application, Answer or Reply. | Identify exactly what is withdrawn and what remains. Consider Rule 12(3) costs before serving. |
| Form 6B — Affidavit of ServiceCheck: Official family forms — Form 6B — Affidavit of Service | To prove service, as required. | Record recipients, documents, method and effective service date. |
| Forms 14, 14A and 14C; proposed orderCheck: Official family forms — Forms 14, 14A and 14C; proposed order | A motion to combine or split under Rule 12(5) or (6). | Exact issues or cases to combine or split, supporting facts, proposed sequence and a precise draft order. Form 14C confirms the hearing. |
Choose the documents that apply to your claims and this route. Use the current official forms and check the instructions printed on each form.Check: Official family forms — form instructionsCheck: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
3. Put the package together
How to withdraw all or part of a claim
- List what you will stop pursuing.Compare the filed pleading with the orders you still seek. Be specific about a partial withdrawal; do not treat a changed parenting proposal as necessarily abandoning a claim.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
- Consider costs before serving.Rule 12(3) says the withdrawing party shall pay every other party’s costs relating to the withdrawn pleading or part, up to withdrawal, unless the court orders or the parties agree otherwise. If you reach an agreement about costs, record its exact terms.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(3)
- Complete and serve Form 12.Identify the withdrawn pleading or part and serve the notice on every other party under Rule 6. Keep a copy and complete Form 6B proof of service.Check: Family Law Rules — 6
Costs warning: Withdrawing a claim can make you responsible for the other parties’ costs connected to that withdrawn claim through the withdrawal date. Rule 12(3) allows a different result by court order or agreement. Do not assume withdrawal is cost-free.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(3)
How to ask to combine or split issues
- Define the proposed order.Identify the cases, claims or issues to be combined or split, what stays on the existing path, and the proposed hearing sequence.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
- Explain why it is more convenient.Address overlap in parties, children, facts and evidence, likely duplication, fairness, and the practical effect on the timetable. Splitting sibling-related parenting issues is possible to request, but the court decides whether it is useful in that case.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
Splitting the divorce claim
Rule 12(6) lets the court, on motion, separate a divorce from the unresolved issues if neither spouse will be disadvantaged and reasonable arrangements have been made for the support of the children of the marriage. Explain both conditions with evidence and identify how the remaining parenting, support or property issues will continue. The divorce is not automatically granted merely because the claims are separated. This is the divorce-claim route mentioned in the Rule 16 guide.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(6), 16
Page and evidence limits
Rule 12 does not set a general page limit for Form 12. A motion under Rule 12(5) or (6) uses the separate Rule 14 motion requirements and the current provincial and East Region directions: the usual affidavit narrative limit is 12 pages for a regular motion or 20 for a long motion, with restrictions on exhibits. An East Region factum required for a motion of one hour or more is a separate document, capped at 20 pages without leave. Check the motion guide before assembling evidence.Check: Family Law Rules — 12, 12(5), 14Check: Provincial family direction — paras. 49–54 (motion evidence)Check: East Region direction — paras. 68–69 (factum requirement, timing and 20-page limit)
4. Get it before the court
Withdrawal: serve and file Form 12; there is no automatic separate hearing. Notify the court about any booked event affected by withdrawal. Combining or splitting: requires a motion and an order under Rule 12(5) or (6). Use the motion guide for booking, service and confirmation.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12(1), (3), (5)–(6)
File the documents through the right channel
Use Family Submissions Online or the permitted self-represented counter/email route. Follow any urgent-filing instruction or order. Retain the court’s acceptance confirmation and Case Document List; a submission receipt alone is not acceptance.Check: Provincial family direction — paras. 1–7, 13–18
Filing and Case Center are separate. In regions outside Toronto, court staff upload accepted pretrial filings for self-represented people. A Case Center upload does not file a document.Check: Provincial family direction — paras. 29–33
5. Service, filing and the timeline
The trigger below may be service, a refusal notice, a court decision or the claim document itself. You do not wait for a new hearing date when the rule requires action earlier.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
- Withdrawal: Rule 12(1) has no fixed number of days before a hearing for Form 12. Serve every other party and file it; costs under Rule 12(3) run to the date of withdrawal. An existing order or scheduled hearing can make prompt action important.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(1), 12(3)
- Ordinary motion to combine or split: Rule 14 generally requires the moving party’s motion materials at least 6 days before the motion and responding materials at least 4 days before. Check the motion route and any order that changes the timetable.Check: Family Law Rules — 14
- Confirmation: In the East Region, file and upload Form 14C by 2 p.m. three business days before a family motion. Ottawa motions lasting 90 minutes or less for all parties are regular motions; longer motions need the applicable scheduling/triage route.Check: East Region direction — paras. 80–85 (confirmation)
- After the hearing: Read the endorsement or order for any directions about separate records, the next event, and which claims remain. Rule 3 explains how to count days.Check: Family Law Rules — 3
Carry out the document and delivery steps
- File and retain acceptance.Submit the notice and proof through the applicable Ottawa filing route. Keep the court’s acceptance and Case Document List. Tell the scheduling office promptly if a hearing that addressed only the withdrawn claim is already booked; a notice alone should not be assumed to cancel a listed event.Check: Family Law Rules — Rule 12
- Arrange and bring a motion.Follow Rule 14 and Ottawa’s scheduling route. Serve and file motion materials and proof of service within the applicable deadlines; if a conference has not yet been held, check the restriction on substantive motions before a case conference and any exception or permission route.Check: Family Law Rules — 14
- Confirm and attend.File Form 14C confirmation by the applicable deadline, attend the hearing, and follow the order if the court grants or adjusts the request. Form 12 is not the form for a splitting order.Check: East Region direction — paras. 80–85 (confirmation)
6. Hot points to remember
- All or part: Rule 12(1) permits a partial withdrawal. Identify the exact part so the remaining case stays clear.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(1)
- Costs are central: Rule 12(3) covers the other parties’ costs relating to the withdrawn part, unless the court orders or the parties agree otherwise. It does not set a dollar amount in the notice.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(3)
- Other situations: A child party or special party needs court permission to withdraw, with the notice required by Rule 12(2). Rule 12(4) gives the court discretion over costs where the withdrawing party is a government agency.Check: Family Law Rules — 12(2), 12(4)
- Do not confuse routes: Rule 11 changes a pleading; Rule 12 withdraws a claim or seeks a procedural split; Rule 15 changes a final order.Check: Family Law Rules — 11, 12, 15