Form 43: Notice of Removal of Lawyer for Party
Form 43 formally notifies the registry and other parties that a party’s lawyer has stopped acting in a BC Provincial Court family case.
Under Rule 163, the party or the lawyer may file and serve Form 43 when a lawyer stops representing a party. This notice updates who is acting and where court documents should be sent; it does not itself decide any parenting, support or other family-law issue.
When is Form 43 used?
Rule 163(3)(a) permits either the party or the lawyer to file and serve Form 43 to record that the lawyer has stopped acting. It is one method of ending the lawyer’s recognized representation under the Provincial Court Family Rules. A lawyer may also cease to represent a party if a new lawyer is identified by a filed and served Form 42, or when an agreed limited purpose previously disclosed in Form 42 ends.
How to complete and serve Form 43
- Identify the existing family case with the correct registry, file number and names of the parties.
- Identify the party and the lawyer whose representation has ended, following the fields on the current official notice.
- Confirm the party has reliable contact and address-for-service information on file for future documents.
- File the completed Form 43 with the registry handling the case.
- Serve the filed notice on each other party and keep a record of service.
- Check any upcoming appearance or filing requirement; this notice does not automatically adjourn a hearing or extend a deadline.
How is this different from replacing the lawyer?
A party or new lawyer can instead file and serve a new Form 42 identifying the replacement lawyer. Under Rule 163(3)(b), that is another recognized route by which the old lawyer stops representing the party. If no replacement lawyer is acting, make sure the party’s address for service stays current under Rule 175.
What about a lawyer appointed for a child?
Form 43 concerns a party’s lawyer, not the child’s own lawyer. The corresponding notice for a child’s departing lawyer is Form 41 under Rule 162. Do not swap those forms.
Practical example
A parent’s lawyer completes an engagement and will not attend later conferences. The parent or lawyer files Form 43 and serves the other party. The parent also verifies that the court and other party have an appropriate current address for service.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a lawyer’s departure cancels the party’s court obligations or upcoming hearing dates.
- Not serving the notice after it is filed.
- Leaving no working address for service in a continuing case.
- Using Form 43 to seek removal of a child’s independent lawyer.
Official sources
- BC government Form 43 (PDF)
- BC Provincial Court Family Rules — Rule 163
- BC government Provincial Court family forms library
Primary-source review: October 13, 2026. Limited to the form and stated procedural requirements, not a certification of every circumstance or future amendment.