Family law cases in the civil courts, 2012/2013: highlights

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• There were almost 318,000 family law cases active in the eight provinces and territories reporting to the Civil Court Survey in 2012/2013. Family law cases accounted for 34% of all civil court cases.
• Family law cases, on average, involve more court events (such as documents filed, hearings and judgments) than other civil court cases. They accounted for nearly half of court events in 2012/2013, including 56% of judgments, although they only represented 34% of all civil court cases. In particular, family law cases involving custody, access, child support and child protection involved higher than average court activity.
• Court activity for family law cases drops off considerably after the first three months. Overall, 43% of family law cases initiated in 2008/2009 reported no activity (court events) after the first three months. Nearly three-quarters (74%) reported no activity after the first year.
• Nearly one-quarter of family law cases (22%) were active during a second year. In the fourth year after initiation, 5% of family law cases initiated in 2008/2009 reported activity; 41% of these were returns to court, having reported no activity during the previous year.
• Cases involving custody, access or child support showed a drop in court activity after the first three months, but tended to remain active longer than other types of family law cases. Of cases initiated in 2008/2009, 61% of custody/access and 70% of cases involving only child support reported no activity after the first year.