I built BeProSe because the court system wasn't built for people like me.

I've been on the other side of this.

I'm Jonathan Silverstein— most people call me Jonny. I'm the founder of BeProSe.

A few years ago I ended up in Ontario Superior Court as a self-represented litigant. Not by choice. Hiring a lawyer didn't make sense for my situation — the legal fees would have cost more than the matter itself.

What I found out, fast, is that the court system expects you to show up with perfectly formatted documents — jurats, Form numbers, rule citations, service affidavits — and nobody tells you how. Not the website. Not the clerks. Not the court forms themselves. You're expected to already know.

I spent hours — sometimes entire nights — trying to figure out the right form, the right language, the right formatting for documents that should take minutes if you know what you're doing.

I'm a software person. I also have a self-taught background in law — not a degree, but enough to know what a Rule of Civil Procedure actually says and how to read a statute. Sitting at my kitchen table at midnight, I realized I could build a tool that turned plain-English answers into court-ready documents. Something I'd actually trust to be right the first time.

So I did. That's what BeProSe is.

What BeProSe is — and isn't

BeProSe is based in Ontario. It is not a law firm, not a paralegal firm, and not a legal advice service. Nothing on this platform constitutes legal advice, legal representation, or a lawyer-client relationship. I don't advise on legal strategy, represent you in court, or tell you what to do with your case.

What BeProSe does is narrower — and more useful — than that. We prepare court-ready documents, correctly formatted against your province's current rules. Affidavits, notices of motion, statements of claim and defence, factums, demand letters, LTB forms, family court forms. All 13 provinces and territories.

Your first document is free. No credit card. After that, single documents are $19.99.

We strongly recommend that you review any document generated by BeProSe with a licensed lawyer or paralegal in your province before filing it with a court or tribunal. Your provincial law society offers a free 30-minute consultation through its Lawyer Referral Service.

Why I'm doing this

Between 50% and 80%of people in Canadian civil and family courts are there without a lawyer. Not because they want to be — because at $300–$600 an hour, a lawyer isn't an option. A week-long trial can cost $50,000–$80,000in legal fees alone. So most people show up with their own notes, try to navigate a system that wasn't designed for them, and hope the clerk accepts their documents.

Most of the time the documents get rejected. A missing jurat. A motion that doesn't comply with Rule 37. A statement of claim with the wrong form number. The case gets adjourned or dismissed on procedure.

That has nothing to do with the merits of the case. It's about formatting.

I built BeProSe because that shouldn't be where Canadian lawsuits get decided. If you've got a real matter — a landlord violating your rights, a contract someone didn't honour, a family court deadline coming up — the question of whether you win or lose shouldn't come down to whether you know what a jurat is.

If you can afford a lawyer, hire one. If you can't, BeProSe is the next best thing.

How it works

1. Tell us what you need. Pick a document type and a province.
2. Answer plain-language questions. No Latin, no legalese. Just your situation in your words.
3. Get a court-ready document in under 10 minutes. Formatted for your specific court, with next-step guidance in plain English.

Courts and tribunals we support

• Provincial and territorial superior courts (e.g. Ontario Superior Court, BC Supreme Court, Alberta Court of King's Bench)
• Provincial courts and small claims divisions
• Family courts and family law divisions
• Residential tenancy boards and tribunals (e.g. Ontario LTB, BC RTB, Alberta RTDRS)

Editorial standards

All document templates and procedural content on the platform are developed with reference to applicable provincial rules of civil procedure, family law statutes, and residential tenancy legislation across all provinces and territories.

Content published on the BeProSe blog is written by the BeProSe Editorial Team. All articles are:

• Researched against primary legal sources (Canadian statutes, regulations, and case law)
• Reviewed for procedural accuracy before publication
• Dated and include a “last reviewed” notice so readers can assess currency
• Clearly labelled as informational content, not legal advice

If you identify an error or outdated information in any of our content, please contact us at legal@beprose.ca.

What I deliberately don't do

• I don't give legal advice.I don't tell you whether you have a case or what to argue.
• I don't appear in court for you. You're your own lawyer. I hand you the documents; you file them.
• I don't guarantee outcomes. Nobody in law can, and anyone who does should make you nervous.
• I don't replace a lawyer for complex, high-value, or criminal matters. If you can afford one, hire one.

What BeProSe is good for

Civil disputes. Family law. Residential tenancy (LTB in Ontario, RTDRS in Alberta, RTB in BC, etc.). Employment claims. Debt recovery and demand letters. Responding to a lawsuit someone filed against you.

If you're not sure whether BeProSe fits your situation, email me directly: jonny@beprose.ca. I read everything myself.

Contact

Jonathan Silverstein, Founder — jonny@beprose.ca
General / Content corrections — legal@beprose.ca
Website — beprose.ca