What Is A 'With Notice' And 'Without Notice' (Ex-Parte) Court Application?

WHAT IS A ‘WITH NOTICE’ APPLICATION?

There are many court forms you can complete and submit asking the family court to do this and to do that.

The vast majority of these applications require you to send multiple copies of your completed form and all the attachments that go with it to the court so they can send a copy to anyone else that is involved or connected to your application. 

In court language this is referred to as ‘to serve‘ and it essentially means all other individuals involved or connected to your application must receive the relevant paperwork that require them to be informed, respond, comply with directions or attend court. 

This is called a ‘with notice’ application. 

If the court requires you to serve another person a copy of your application form yourself then you are required to notify the family court that you have done this by sending them a completed statement of service form.

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WHAT IS A ‘WITHOUT NOTICE (EX PARTE)’ APPLICATION?

Occasionally you may need to submit an application form for a court order in an emergency and you may NOT want to inform the other individuals involved or connected with your application that you are doing this in case they try to stop you or harm you and/or your children. This is called a ‘without notice’ application where other individuals are not informed about your application.  

A ‘without notice’ application can also be referred to an ex-parte application. 

A court will take a ‘without notice’ application seriously and where appropriate they will temporarily make the requested relevant order to protect or provide relief for the applicant (you – the person who made the application). This will be made at a court hearing that only you (and your solicitor or social worker) will attend. As soon as possible another hearing will take place where all other individuals involved or connected to your application will be invited to attend and put their case forward. At this stage the temporary court order can be made into a proper court order, it can be amended, or revoked. 

Some application forms will ask whether the application is a ‘with notice’ or ‘without notice’ application, others will not. Whether the form asks you or not, in both cases you will need to explain in detail why you have made a ‘without notice’.