800 plain-language Q&As about family. Browse below, or search the whole library.
An acquittal doesn't automatically prevent a family court from finding that family violence occurred — the two proceedings apply different standards of…
Read the full answer →Yes. Where a self-employed parent runs personal expenses, such as a vehicle, travel, meals, or other personal costs, through their business as a…
Read the full answer →No, not through a standard application — adding a parent's surname to a child's existing name is still a change to the child's legal name under the…
Read the full answer →Yes, a self-represented party can ask for an adjournment to get legal advice, and courts generally take this kind of request seriously, particularly…
Read the full answer →Generally, no — where an intended parent qualifies as a legal parent under Ontario's surrogacy and assisted reproduction rules, either through the…
Read the full answer →Yes, in most cases a parent is required to continue paying child support when an adult child is enrolled full-time in a post-secondary program. Both…
Read the full answer →Yes. An adult sibling can apply to the family court for contact with a younger sibling using the same non-parent framework available to grandparents…
Read the full answer →Technically, yes — adultery is one of the three grounds for marriage breakdown under the Divorce Act, and if proven, you do not have to wait for the…
Read the full answer →An affidavit supporting an urgent, without-notice motion needs to do more than simply assert that the situation is urgent — it must set out the…
Read the full answer →A temporary order can generally be appealed, but appellate courts are typically reluctant to interfere with interim, discretionary decisions, since a…
Read the full answer →A parent found in contempt of a parenting order generally has the right to appeal that finding, similar to how other significant family court decisions…
Read the full answer →Ontario's arbitration legislation and family law framework set out specific formalities a family arbitration agreement must meet before it can produce…
Read the full answer →Not in a way that produces an enforceable family arbitration award under Ontario's framework. For arbitration to count as binding family arbitration,…
Read the full answer →The best-interests-of-the-child test is the governing standard for parenting decisions throughout Ontario family law, and a family arbitrator deciding…
Read the full answer →Independent legal advice plays a central role in family arbitration, though it's most directly required at the front end, before the arbitration…
Read the full answer →Yes, actual or reasonably apprehended bias on the part of the arbitrator is one of the recognized grounds for challenging a family arbitration award,…
Read the full answer →A properly conducted family arbitration award, one that meets Ontario's formalities around the agreement, independent legal advice, and applying…
Read the full answer →Arbitration isn't limited to parenting disputes; it can be used to resolve child support, spousal support, and property issues as well, and many…
Read the full answer →An error of law is generally one of the recognized grounds for challenging a family arbitration award, though how much room there is to raise it can…
Read the full answer →A family arbitrator generally resolves a defined family law dispute, such as parenting arrangements, support, or property, through a formal process…
Read the full answer →Yes, screening for family violence and power imbalances between the parties is generally a required part of a family arbitrator's process before…
Read the full answer →Yes, privacy is one of the more commonly cited advantages of family arbitration compared to a typical family court proceeding. Court hearings, and the…
Read the full answer →This depends significantly on how the parenting coordination agreement is drafted, since confidentiality in this context isn't governed by one fixed…
Read the full answer →Yes. Moving to another province does not erase a support obligation or the arrears that have built up under it. Canada has reciprocal enforcement…
Read the full answer →Accumulated arrears don't simply disappear once a child is no longer eligible for ongoing support. The obligation to pay off arrears that built up…
Read the full answer →An aunt or an adult sibling seeking contact with a child needs to show the court two connected things: first, that they have a genuine, meaningful…
Read the full answer →Contacting the Family Responsibility Office proactively, before matters escalate to a default hearing, is generally the most effective way for a payor…
Read the full answer →An intended parent generally cannot simply walk away from a surrogacy agreement once an embryo transfer has taken place and expect no consequences —…
Read the full answer →A parent does not have an unqualified "right" to a relationship with their child that overrides the child's safety — the governing test is the best…
Read the full answer →Biological relation is relevant, but it isn't the deciding factor, and it isn't required either. Courts assessing standing for a contact application…
Read the full answer →Blameworthy conduct in this context generally refers to a payor's actions that either caused or contributed to the recipient's delay in seeking an…
Read the full answer →Yes, and this is a common situation many parenting plans are written to accommodate - the underlying legal schedule still belongs to the two legal…
Read the full answer →Yes, a parenting agreement or informal family understanding can set out expectations about a stepparent's role in discipline, even though there's no…
Read the full answer →A parenting plan can touch on shared expectations between households, but it generally isn't the right tool for coordinating detailed, day-to-day house…
Read the full answer →Yes, a parenting plan can include terms about how children from two different family units are introduced and gradually integrated as a blended family,…
Read the full answer →A parenting plan generally isn't the right document to specify household living arrangements like bedroom assignments, since that's a practical,…
Read the full answer →There's no fixed legal formula for allocating holiday time among multiple sets of grandparents in a blended family - this is generally addressed…
Read the full answer →It can, particularly where the bonus or commission reflects income the payor actually earned during a period when support was calculated using a lower…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes — under the Change of Name Act, changing a child's surname normally requires the consent of everyone who has decision-making…
Read the full answer →When both parents are under investigation by the same children's aid society at the same time, the society will typically assess each parent's home and…
Read the full answer →If neither party files the required conference brief, the conference is likely to be far less useful, and the judge has several options: proceeding…
Read the full answer →Breaching a restraining order is a criminal offence, regardless of whether the underlying family court case is still ongoing — it can be reported to…
Read the full answer →A court can order a business-owner payor to produce a wide range of financial records beyond their personal tax return, including corporate financial…
Read the full answer →A reported business loss that doesn't match a payor's visible, comfortable lifestyle is exactly the kind of inconsistency that invites closer scrutiny,…
Read the full answer →Once a court decides a retroactive period is warranted, it generally recalculates what child support should have been paid during that period based on…
Read the full answer →Once an equalization payment is ordered by a court or agreed to in a separation agreement, it is generally final. Unlike spousal support or child…
Read the full answer →Yes. Equalization is a financial debt between spouses, but it can be satisfied in any way both parties agree — or that a court orders. Cash is the…
Read the full answer →Not quite the same way. A family arbitration award can generally be challenged, but the available grounds and process are narrower and more specific…
Read the full answer →In many respects, yes, particularly once an arbitration award has been incorporated into a court order or a properly formed domestic contract, since…
Read the full answer →A child cannot unilaterally decide where they live in Ontario, but their views and preferences are one important factor courts consider under the best…
Read the full answer →Courts in Ontario have the authority to set aside or vary a separation agreement in certain situations, though they generally respect agreements that…
Read the full answer →A divorce cannot be "cancelled" or reversed once it takes effect. The Divorce Act allows for an appeal of a divorce order within the 31-day period…
Read the full answer →Yes, but there is a nuance. Divorce itself is governed by the federal Divorce Act, which deals with parenting, child support, and spousal support.…
Read the full answer →Yes, but with important restrictions. The Family Law Act allows spouses to deal with matrimonial home rights in a domestic contract — either a marriage…
Read the full answer →Yes, but only in narrow circumstances. Section 5(6) of the Family Law Act gives a court the power to order an unequal division of net family property…
Read the full answer →Yes. Under the Family Law Act, spouses can contract out of equalization entirely through a domestic contract — either a marriage contract signed before…
Read the full answer →Yes. Under Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act, grandparents and other persons with a close relationship to a child (such as step-parents or other…
Read the full answer →Generally, no — not if the home is your matrimonial home. Both married spouses have an equal right to possess the matrimonial home under the Family Law…
Read the full answer →Yes. You do not need your spouse's agreement or cooperation to obtain a divorce in Ontario. If your spouse refuses to participate, you can file a sole…
Read the full answer →Generally no — not if the move would qualify as a relocation and your co-parent objects. Under the Divorce Act, if a move would significantly affect…
Read the full answer →Yes, you can bring a court application to prevent the move — but the outcome depends on your parenting arrangements and the specific circumstances. You…
Read the full answer →Yes, spouses can agree in a separation agreement to waive or limit spousal support. Under the Family Law Act, a domestic contract can address support,…
Read the full answer →Generally, a judge does not make final decisions on contested issues at a case conference — conferences are meant to be informal, non-evidentiary steps…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario's parentage rules were updated to reflect that children are sometimes conceived through arrangements involving more than two adults — for…
Read the full answer →If you and your co-parent share joint decision-making responsibility, neither parent can unilaterally change the child's school without the other's…
Read the full answer →Whether one parent can end parenting coordination unilaterally depends on what the parenting coordination agreement itself says about ending the…
Read the full answer →Religious upbringing is explicitly recognized as a major decision under Canadian family law. If parents share joint decision-making responsibility,…
Read the full answer →The answer depends on your decision-making arrangement. Mental health treatment — particularly ongoing therapy — is generally considered a major…
Read the full answer →Parents can agree on a child support amount in a separation agreement, but a court will only accept a number below the Guidelines table if specific…
Read the full answer →Most equalization matters in Ontario are resolved without going to court. Spouses can negotiate directly, use lawyers to negotiate on their behalf,…
Read the full answer →Yes, a separation agreement can be changed after it is signed, but both parties must agree to any changes. A variation must be made in the same way as…
Read the full answer →Yes, spousal support orders can be changed, but the person asking for the change must show there has been a "material change in circumstances" since…
Read the full answer →Yes. In Ontario, unpaid spousal support arrears can be enforced against the payor's real property through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO). The…
Read the full answer →No. The Family Law Act prohibits a spouse from selling, mortgaging, leasing, or otherwise disposing of an interest in the matrimonial home without the…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, your spouse cannot automatically "take half your business" the way the question implies, but the value of your business is almost certainly…
Read the full answer →No. The matrimonial home provisions of Ontario's Family Law Act apply only to married spouses. Common-law partners — regardless of how long they have…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario courts recognize that many couples cannot afford to move into separate homes immediately. You can be legally separated even while sharing…
Read the full answer →You can write your own separation agreement in Ontario; there is no law requiring a lawyer to draft it. However, to be enforceable, a separation…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, there is no legal requirement that lawyers draft or review your separation agreement. Two spouses can write and sign their own agreement,…
Read the full answer →An inability to pay doesn't erase or reduce a costs order simply because the paying party finds it difficult — the debt remains owed and enforceable,…
Read the full answer →There is no fixed numerical cap, such as a maximum percentage, set out for how much an undue hardship finding can reduce the table amount; instead, the…
Read the full answer →Closing a file generally means the society didn't substantiate a protection concern, or that whatever concern existed has been addressed, and it isn't…
Read the full answer →It can be, but not automatically or in raw form. A children's aid society's file isn't simply handed over for use in a family court motion; the parent…
Read the full answer →Not automatically. A children's aid society investigation and the parents' own parenting dispute are separate proceedings under separate statutes, and…
Read the full answer →There's no automatic pipeline between a society's investigation and a judge hearing your parenting dispute - the two are different proceedings under…
Read the full answer →No. Children's aid society involvement, by itself, doesn't automatically trigger supervised parenting time - that's a specific restriction a family…
Read the full answer →Not automatically. A children's aid society worker can give evidence about what they observed, what was reported, and what steps the society took -…
Read the full answer →These are three distinct stages in an Ontario family court case, each with a different focus. A case conference typically comes first, aimed at…
Read the full answer →A certificate of pending litigation is a notice that can be registered against the title of a specific piece of real property, alerting anyone dealing…
Read the full answer →A payor who believes their licence was suspended in error, for example because arrears were actually paid, a payment was misapplied, or the suspension…
Read the full answer →A pre-conception parentage agreement can be challenged, but it is not simply set aside because someone changes their mind — Ontario courts treat these…
Read the full answer →Generally, no - a temporary care and custody agreement is a matter for the child protection process, and challenging it directly, for example on the…
Read the full answer →Yes, this is a genuine and recognized concern with the med-arb model, precisely because the same professional moves from a confidential, facilitative…
Read the full answer →Being separated but still legally married generally means the simplified process for resuming a former surname after divorce isn't yet available, since…
Read the full answer →A child support order can be changed through a formal court process called a motion to vary. To succeed, you must show that there has been a material…
Read the full answer →Yes, but not easily — the law requires a "material change in circumstances" before a court will vary (change) a divorce order. A material change is a…
Read the full answer →Yes. After your divorce is final, you have the right to return to your birth name or a name you used before the marriage. In Ontario, you can make this…
Read the full answer →A child's objection to being returned can support a defense to a Hague return application, but it isn't automatic or absolute — the court first has to…
Read the full answer →Yes, indirectly. A finding made in a child protection case - for example, that a child was in need of protection because of neglect, abuse, or exposure…
Read the full answer →A child protection worker who is asked to testify in a family court parenting hearing generally gives fact evidence - what they observed, what was…
Read the full answer →Send it to a Treadstone lawyer — free, answered in plain language.