• What to do with the children if you and your spouse can’t agree? How to figure out which of you has to pay child support and in what amount?
  
• Does one of you have to financially support the other? If so, in what way?
  
• Who can use the home? The furniture?
  
• How to ensure your safety and that of your children until the trial?

• a safeguard order, if you want an urgent and temporary judgment and nothing else, or
  
  
• safeguard measures and provisional measures to deal with the urgent issues as well as having a judgment that will be valid until the final trial, or
  
  
• provisional measures only, if you do not have an urgent request, but still need a judgment that will be valid until the final judgment of divorce.

• child custody or the right to see your children even if you do not have custody (=access rights)
  
• child support
  
• spousal support (may include bills/debts that one spouse wants the other spouse to pay on a temporary basis - for example: mortgage payments)
  
• the use of the house or apartment
  
• the use of furniture in the house or apartment
  
• the necessary measures to ensure the safety of a spouse. For example, a court order not to threaten, harass or otherwise disturb the other spouse, not to call the other spouse, not to follow or have them followed

• A brief description of your family situation and what has occurred to date in your file. For example:
  
   
  1. On March 12, 2010, the plaintiff instituted divorce proceedings, as it appears in the Court record.
  
  2. The parties are the parents of two children:
  
  (a) Lavoie, Marie-Pierrette, born December 2, 2006, currently 5 years old;
  (b) Lavoie, Augustin, born December 13, 2008, currently 3 years old;
  
   
  
  
• What you are asking for and the facts that support your request. For example:
  
   
  5. The plaintiff is seeking sole custody of his children because he has always been their sole caretaker…
   
  
  
• If you are asking for a safeguard order, you must briefly explain the urgent nature of the situation.
  
  
• Conclusions. For example:
  
  
   
  10 – For all these reasons, the Plaintiff requests this Honourable Court to grant him sole custody of the children…
   
  
  
• What you want the judge to do in his judgment.
  
   
  May it please the court:
  
  Award sole custody of the children of the parties to the plaintiff;
  
  Grant access rights to the defendant from Saturday to Sunday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, every second weekend;
  
  Order the defendant to…
   
  
  
• The place, date and your signature or that of the law firm that represents you.

• An affidavit
  
  An affidavit is a statement you make under oath. You must affirm before a qualified officer (called a "Commissioner for Oaths") that what you say in the motion is true. Then you sign the affidavit.
  
  
• A notice of presentation
  A notice of presentation is a notice to the other spouse telling her when and where the motion will be presented to a judge.

The following documents must be sent along with a motion in which you are asking for custody of the children and child support for them:

• A form for fixing child support (Child Support Determination Form often called "Annex I")
  
  Once this form is correctly completed, you will know the exact amount that your spouse will have to pay you to meet the children’s needs. (In other words, the amount of child support).
  
  You must attach proof of your income.
  
  
• A Sworn Statement under Article 827.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure (often called an "827.5")
  You can find a copy of this form by clicking here. This form contains information about your job and your employer. Unlike other documents/forms, you are not obliged to give a copy of your "827.5" to your spouse.

The following documents must be sent along with a motion in which you are asking for support for yourself:

• A Statement of Income and Expenses and Balance Sheet (a "Form III"):
  
  This form is used to quantify your needs and to determine your means, and level of indebtedness.
  
  You must attach proof of your income.
  
  
• A Sworn Statement under Article 827.5 of the Code of Civil Procedure (often called an "827.5")
  You can find a copy of this form by clicking here. This form contains information about your job and your employer. Unlike other documents/forms, you are not obliged to give a copy of your "827.5" to your spouse.

If you ask for a safeguard order, you can draft:

• This detailed affidavit is optional.
  
• It allows the spouse who applied for a safeguard order to explain his position. Remember that normally, spouses do not have the right to testify before the judge at this point. The spouse can explain what he wants to tell the judge in this detailed affidavit.
  
• Like any affidavit, it must be written in the first person singular ("I") and signed under oath. The affidavit gives more details than those contained in the motion. For example: "I have always taken care of the children, ever since they were born. I have fed them, changed their diapers, bathed them, put them to bed."
  
• The other spouse can also draft a detailed affidavit explaining her views or responding to what is in the motion or detailed affidavit made by the other spouse.
  
  For example, Felix filed a Motion for a Safeguard Order and Provisional Measures, and submitted a detailed affidavit explaining his position. Amanda writes a detailed affidavit in response to Felix’s Motion and detailed affidavit. She explains her point of view. Felix can write another detailed affidavit in response to that of Amanda’s. Any further detailed affidavits must be authorized by the judge.
  
  
• Be careful! Some judicial districts limit the number of pages that a detailed affidavit can contain. Get informed!

• If you are not already represented, you can get a lawyer to represent you. If this is what you want, begin your inquiries as soon as possible. If you wait too long, you may not find an available lawyer when needed.
  
  
• Draft or have a lawyer draft the appropriate legal documents in order to address the contents of your spouse’s motion. See the question "What documents can I draft to defend myself against my spouse’s motion?”
  
  
• Be present at the time and place indicated on the Notice of Presentation to protect your rights or ask for a "postponement". A postponement is a request to your spouse (or his lawyer, if he is represented) that the motion be presented to the Court on another day than the one indicated on the Notice of Presentation. You can ask for a postponement if you have a serious reason that prevents you from being there or from properly defending yourself. You must come to an agreement with your spouse or his lawyer to obtain a postponement.
  
  
• Try to negotiate with your spouse to come to an agreement. You can also do this with the help of a lawyer.
  
  However, be aware that negotiations do not change the date on which the motion will be presented to the Court. Only your spouse or his lawyer can change the date on which the motion will be presented.
  
  So if your spouse agrees to negotiate with you, you can require him to confirm in writing (or that his lawyer confirms in writing) that the motion will not be submitted to the Court on the date indicated on the notice. Your spouse can also confirm that he will send you another notice with a new date if he eventually wants to present his motion to a judge despite the negotiations.
  
  
• Do nothing. Know that if you are not present at Court on the date specified in the notice, your spouse (or his lawyer) may seek a safeguard order in your absence. To protect your rights, it is important to be there at the date and time indicated on the notice. Before you decide not to do anything, it may be beneficial to consult a lawyer to make sure you are well informed of the consequences of this decision.

• A detailed affidavit
  
• Your Child Support Determination Form (often called "Annex I") with proof of your income
  
• Your Statement of Income and Expenses and Balance Sheet with proof of your income

• Your own motion. Remember that it is generally inappropriate to respond to a motion with your own motion regarding the same issues. For example, if your spouse wants custody of the children and support, you should not file your own motion requesting the same thing. However, if your motion is primarily to ask for something else, it can be both a request and an appropriate answer to his motion.