How to File for Divorce in Manitoba: Step-by-Step Guide

Deciding to end a marriage is hard enough without having to work out the paperwork. In Manitoba, a divorce is a court process, and it follows a fairly clear order once you know the steps.

This guide walks through that order, from checking that you can apply to receiving the final divorce. It explains how things generally work. Your own situation, especially if children, property or disagreement are involved, may call for advice from a lawyer.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

Step 1: Check that you can divorce in Manitoba

You must apply to a court for a divorce. A Manitoba court can hear the case if either spouse has been habitually resident in the province for at least one year. The spouse who files does not have to be the one who meets that test.

If neither spouse has lived in Manitoba for a year, the Manitoba court cannot grant the divorce. You would need to wait until one of you has been resident for a year, or use the court of a province or territory where one of you has been resident for a year.

The Divorce Act applies to marriages. Common-law partners cannot obtain a divorce under it.

Step 2: Know the ground for divorce

The court may grant a divorce on the application of either or both spouses on the ground that the marriage has broken down. Most people show this by living separate and apart for at least one year immediately before the divorce is decided, and being separated when the case began.

• You can file before the year is complete, but the breakdown is established only once you have lived apart for a year before the divorce is determined.
• Short attempts to reconcile do not restart the clock if you resumed living together for periods totalling no more than ninety days, mainly to reconcile.
• Breakdown can also be shown if the other spouse has committed adultery or treated you with physical or mental cruelty that makes living together intolerable, and no year of separation is then required. In those cases the court must also be satisfied that the spouse making the complaint did not condone or connive at the conduct.

Step 3: Choose a sole or joint application and file

In Manitoba, divorce is filed in the Court of King's Bench (Family Division), and Rule 70 of the Court of King's Bench rules sets the required form of the documents. A sole application uses Form 70A, the Petition for Divorce.

Spouses can instead apply jointly using Form 70A.1, with each spouse a party to the application. A joint petition is not available if one spouse wants relief the other does not agree to. A marriage certificate must be filed as a prerequisite. The court filing fee for a petition is $200.

Step 4: Notify your spouse and wait for an answer

With a sole petition, the other spouse must be notified. If they cannot be found, the court may allow substitutional service, such as a notice in a local newspaper.

Form 70A tells the respondent to file an answer within 20 days if served in Manitoba, 40 days if served elsewhere in Canada or the United States, and 60 days if served outside those countries. A respondent who opposes the petition files an Answer in Form 70J.

The court review and the final divorce

If no answer is filed, the applicant may submit evidence by affidavit, and the judge may grant the orders or ask for more evidence in court. For an uncontested sole petition you provide three copies of the divorce judgment (Form 70O) unless the court orders otherwise.

Before granting a divorce the court must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for support of any children of the marriage, and if not, it must delay the divorce until they are made. Before considering the evidence, the court must also satisfy itself that reconciliation is not possible, unless the circumstances make that clearly inappropriate. If reconciliation seems possible, it must adjourn to give the spouses a chance, and must resume after 14 days on application of either or both spouses.

The divorce takes effect on the thirty-first day after the judgment is rendered. The court may order an earlier date only in special circumstances where the spouses agree and undertake not to appeal. If an appeal is pending, the date can be pushed back. Once effective, a divorce has legal effect throughout Canada, and a court officer must on request issue a certificate of the date it took effect.

If your divorce is contested, and what to do next

Uncontested divorces are excluded from the Triage/Case Management Model. Contested cases use it, starting with prerequisites and then a Request for Triage Conference (Form 70D.2), a Certificate of Prerequisite Completion (Form 70D.3) and a Triage Brief (Form 70D.4). Trial is set within 12 to 15 months of the first case conference. Appeals of divorce orders must be filed within 30 days after the order was made. If you reach agreement at any stage, the court can issue a consent order without a hearing.

• Confirm that one of you has lived in Manitoba for a year.
• Work out your separation date and keep a simple record of it.
• Get your marriage certificate.
• Decide whether a joint or sole application fits your situation.
• Talk to a lawyer if children, property, support or safety are in dispute.
• Confirm the current forms and rules with the court before filing.

Frequently asked questions