As civil and family courts remained focused on dealing with “urgent matters” only, people without lawyers are struggling to figure out an evolving set of rules and procedures — and what urgent means.

It’s hard enough for lawyers to figure out what is going on — let alone people without legal representation, said Julie Macfarlane, a law professor at the University of Windsor and the founder of the National Self-Represented Litigants Project.

“The self-rep community are always in a state of anxiety and are in even more of a state of anxiety at the moment,” she said.

On Friday the Superior Court of Justice published their guidelines on what can constitute an urgent family matter including safety, medical decisions, violation of child-custody agreements, financial issues and child-protection matters.

But the message from court decisions remains clear on two fronts — child-custody agreements remain in effect and parties should try to resolve conflicts outside of court as much as possible.

Macfarlane has been working to provide support and advice for self-represented people who still need to file urgent motions or negotiate effectively outside of court.

She is running a pair of free webinars for people with questions. The second is scheduled for April 14.

She spoke with the Star recently about some of the key things self-represented litigants should know:

Court orders and custody arrangements are still in effect even in the public health emergency, she said.

“If you have a court order in which your kid is supposed to go to the other parent on the weekend, it’s not null and void due to COVID-19,” she said.

But if there are specific concerns around requirements for physical distancing, isolation, changes to pick-up and drop-off procedures, then a temporary agreement can be made outside court. A temporary agreement could also be made for payments if income has been affected in some way due to COVID-19.

“This is not the time to stitch up all the other things they’ve been fighting about, but just the immediate issue,” she said. “Try to create a working relationship with the other side, at least for this negotiation.”

As seen in a template for an agreement, it could also proactively address how co-parents would approach issues like needing to self-isolate if they come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.

One way to go about creating a temporary agreement is to send a written proposal to the other side and have them send back their own proposal, Macfarlane said. “What you really need to know is what the other side wants and why. Then you have much more capacity to figure out how you might craft something they would buy into.”

She also recommends running a proposal by a trusted, reasonable friend or family member. That person could also be a support during a phone or video call.

When it comes to alimony and child support, Macfarlane said could be helpful to work out a temporary payment plan based on the current available income, she said. Having reduced but regular payments, for now, may be less stressful than not knowing how much money will be paid, with constant conflict.

“All of this is very difficult. I don’t want to sound Pollyanna-ish,” she said.

“But it’s really important to assess what will happen if you don’t make an agreement,” she said. It could mean continued uncertainty and anxiety for parents and stress for the child.

Ideally, any agreement made would be put in writing, signed by both parties and both would have copies.

This doesn’t mean it’s legally enforceable but it gives the agreement some “gravitas” and can be used to show a court in the future that steps were taken to try and come to an agreement, she said.

Unless there are extreme circumstances that need an immediate resolution or intervention, she suggests avoiding spending hours trying to figure out how to file an urgent motion or repeatedly emailing overwhelmed court staff.

“Focus your energy on trying to create a temporary agreement with your other side in a family matter,” Macfarlane said. “It is most likely to lead to relatively good outcomes.”

Free mediation services are also available remotely, she said.

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Other resources:

The Law Society of Ontario’s emergency family law referral line is available for half-an-hour of advice and referrals to other services at 1-800-268-7568.

Duty counsel through Legal Aid Ontario is available to provide summary legal advice for family law and Children’s Aid Society matters at 1-800-668-8258. There is no longer a financial requirement.