Most people who need a family court order urgently have never been inside a courthouse, and the first thing they discover is that the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta changed how family matters are handled at the start of this year. Since January 2, 2026, family matters run under what the Court calls the Family Focused Protocol. A family entering the system is assigned a Mandatory Intake Triage Justice, who meets the parties at a one-hour intake conference, deals with interim needs, directs a settlement conference, and manages the case through to resolution or trial. Before that intake conference happens, the parties are expected to have completed the Parenting After Separation seminar, attempted alternative dispute resolution, and exchanged financial disclosure. That process is designed for the ordinary case. It is not designed for the parent whose child is being driven to the airport.
What the Court treats as urgent
The Court has published a definition, and it is the gate that every urgent request has to pass through. A family matter is urgent where there is a risk of violence or immediate harm to a party or a child, which expressly includes an application for exclusive possession of the family home on that basis; where there is a risk that a child will be removed from the jurisdiction; where an Emergency Protection Order is up for its review; and where a question of parenting time, contact or communication with a child cannot reasonably be delayed. The Court’s general definition of urgency also covers the risk that an existing protection order or restraining order will expire. A matter that does not fit that definition, however pressing it feels, goes through the regular process, and the mandatory requirements apply to it unless the Court waives them.
How the urgent request is made
Since March 9, 2026 the Court’s Urgent Application Process has applied across Alberta. An action has to exist or be started, which means a Statement of Claim, a Family Law Claim in Form FL-10, or an Originating Application. The applicant then emails the Court’s Urgent Request form together with that commencing document, a draft application marked with a “TBD” court date, and the affidavit or statements that support it. If the request is made with notice, it must be copied to the other party, and a request that is not copied may simply be rejected. Court fees are paid when the request is submitted and are not refunded if the request is turned down. The Court’s published processing time for the request itself is 24 to 48 business hours. Where a family already has an assigned intake or case conference justice, the request goes to that justice with a Request for Case Conference form; where none has been assigned, it goes to a Desk Duty Justice in Calgary or Edmonton, and for Calgary-area families that means the Calgary Courts Centre.
What happens next
Once the Court has considered the request it emails directions. If the request is accepted, a hearing is scheduled and the applicant has to serve the Court’s decision on the other side; the Court does not do that for you. If the application has been allowed to proceed without notice, the order made is temporary and a return date is set on which the other party is heard. If notice is required, the other party responds, usually on a timeline measured in days, and both sides appear before a justice on the affidavit evidence. Urgent hearings are not trials; there are no witnesses in the ordinary course, and the justice decides on the paper. That is why the affidavit, which has to establish both the urgency and the merits, does most of the work.
What to do today
Two things make the difference in an urgent matter. The first is speed of decision: the sooner the request is in front of the Court, the sooner the hearing. The second is the quality of the written record, because the interim order made at an urgent hearing tends to become the arrangement the family lives with until the case is finally resolved. Keystone Legal handles urgent family applications, on both sides, for matters proceeding through the Calgary Courts Centre. If your matter cannot wait, call (587) 328-3328.
This article is general information about Alberta law and is not legal advice. Every situation is different, and you should speak with a lawyer about yours.
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