When confronted with the task of initiating or responding to legal proceedings and filling out important court forms, the task may deem to be more daunting than originally thought. The paralegals here at Joston Legal Services can assist you with this process up to and including filing the documents with the court.
Court Forms
Court forms typically will not explain the governing law to you, and they may not provide or cover all of the information necessary to assist you in filling out the forms accordingly. We will use legal forms as a tool in conjunction with the other written documents you have or prepared, information you gather, and research you have done prior to our meeting.
Filing a Document
"Filing" typically means visiting a court clerk at a filing window; paying a filing fee by cash, check, or credit card; and submitting the document to be filed (usually the original and two copies). For each document filed, the court clerk inspects the document to ensure it complies with the court's rules on how legal documents should be formatted and verifies that the case number and caption are for a valid case. (If the document is the first filing in a case, the court clerk assigns a new case number and opens a new file for the case.) Next, the court clerk stamps all copies with a large stamp that indicates the name of the court and the date the document was filed, then keeps one copy for the court's files and returns the remaining copies to the filer for the filer's records and for mailing or personal delivery
Superior Court Fees in Small Claims Actions
Civil filing fees in Small Claims Actions (for amounts less than $35,000.00) are governed by the Administration of Justice Act, as set forth in O. Reg. 332/16: Small Claims Court – Fees and Allowances. Fees are payable to the Ontario Minister of Finance.