800 plain-language Q&As about family. Browse below, or search the whole library.
When a child becomes a Crown ward, the Crown - acting through a children's aid society - generally takes on guardianship of the child, which typically…
Read the full answer →A declaration of parentage is a court order confirming that someone already qualifies, under Ontario's parentage rules, to be recognized as a child's…
Read the full answer →Ontario's automatic parentage route for surrogacy only takes effect after the child is born — it depends on the surrogate's written confirmation given…
Read the full answer →A default hearing is a court process used when a payor has fallen behind on support and hasn't resolved the arrears through the Family Responsibility…
Read the full answer →The Hague Convention sets out a small number of narrow, specific defenses to an application for a child's return, and the general approach is that…
Read the full answer →Ontario's Family Law Act allows spouses to jointly register a designation of matrimonial home against the property on title. This formal designation…
Read the full answer →These three terms describe different legal situations, and it is worth understanding each one clearly. Separation means the spouses have decided to…
Read the full answer →Separation and divorce are distinct legal states. When you separate, you and your spouse decide to live separate and apart with the intent to end the…
Read the full answer →A parent who believes a coordinator is overstepping the scope of authority set out in the parenting coordination agreement, or exercising that…
Read the full answer →Family arbitration generally still requires the parties to exchange relevant disclosure before or at the start of the process, much like litigation or…
Read the full answer →Because a parenting coordinator's authority comes from the parents' own agreement rather than a fixed statutory role, the exact boundaries vary by…
Read the full answer →Both statutes allow a non-parent to seek contact with a child, and both apply the same underlying best-interests test, but which one applies depends on…
Read the full answer →Canada Pension Plan (CPP) credit splitting is a separate process from Ontario's family law equalization and operates under federal legislation. Upon…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, pensions are treated as property for the purpose of equalization under the Family Law Act. The value of a pension that accrued during the…
Read the full answer →The matrimonial home receives special treatment under Ontario's Family Law Act. Both spouses have an equal right to possession of the matrimonial home,…
Read the full answer →Yes. Provided you have lived in Ontario for at least one year, you can file for divorce here even if your spouse lives abroad. The Ontario court has…
Read the full answer →When divorcing with children, the court's primary concern under both the Divorce Act and Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act is the best interests of…
Read the full answer →Yes. The Divorce Act is a federal statute that applies across Canada. You do not need to have been married in Ontario to divorce in Ontario — what…
Read the full answer →Both spouses are not legally required to have separate lawyers, but it is strongly recommended. One lawyer cannot represent both parties in a…
Read the full answer →No, there is no legal requirement for both spouses to retain separate lawyers in an uncontested divorce. Many couples complete a straightforward…
Read the full answer →No. Ontario's equalization scheme under the Family Law Act applies only to married spouses. Common-law partners — no matter how long they lived…
Read the full answer →No — in Ontario, common-law partners do not have the same automatic property rights as married spouses when they separate. This is one of the most…
Read the full answer →Yes — in Ontario, marriage is not required for a spousal support obligation to arise. The Family Law Act allows a person to claim support from a former…
Read the full answer →You are not legally required to hire a lawyer to get a divorce in Ontario. Self-represented litigants (people who represent themselves) do file and…
Read the full answer →You are not legally required to hire a lawyer to separate in Ontario. Separation itself is a factual event — it happens the moment you decide to live…
Read the full answer →Ontario offers a simplified path for someone who wants to resume a surname they used before their marriage after a divorce, separate from the general…
Read the full answer →Before a case conference, the Family Law Rules generally require each party to file a case conference brief, a document summarizing the issues in…
Read the full answer →Enforcement through the Family Responsibility Office is automatic by default in Ontario: once a court makes a support order (or a support-related…
Read the full answer →No. Joint decision-making responsibility and equal parenting time are two entirely separate concepts in Ontario family law, and they do not go together…
Read the full answer →If your income increases significantly after a support order is made, your ex-spouse may apply to vary the order to increase the amount of support you…
Read the full answer →No. A separation agreement in Ontario does not need to be filed with a court to be valid and binding between the parties. Unlike a court order, a…
Read the full answer →Retirement can be a valid reason to apply to vary or terminate spousal support, but it does not end payments automatically. The paying spouse must…
Read the full answer →In a contested parenting case involving allegations of family violence, a court can order or receive an assessment — typically prepared by a qualified…
Read the full answer →Yes. To avoid being considered a legal parent, a person who provides sperm, eggs, or embryos for someone else's reproduction should sign a written…
Read the full answer →It depends on the specific program and the person's eligibility, but duty counsel's role is generally more limited than a fully retained lawyer's — in…
Read the full answer →Yes. Full and frank financial disclosure is a legal obligation in Ontario family law proceedings, including spousal support cases. Both the payor and…
Read the full answer →When a parent claims they cannot find work, a court assessing whether to impute income looks at their education, past work history, age, health, and…
Read the full answer →Yes, a recipient's own assets and investment income are directly relevant to both entitlement and the amount of any support award. Spousal support…
Read the full answer →Yes, a parent can bring an urgent motion asking the family court to change parenting time where the other parent's home is under active investigation…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes, if the clause and the surrounding agreement meet the formalities Ontario's family law framework requires, a party who later has second…
Read the full answer →Enforcing support against a payor who has left Canada entirely, with no remaining assets or income here, is significantly harder than enforcing against…
Read the full answer →Yes. The end of a support order or agreement, whether because a child has aged out, the term expired, or the parties otherwise reached the end of the…
Read the full answer →If your divorce order includes child support or spousal support and your ex-spouse stops paying, the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is the primary…
Read the full answer →Yes, a payor being self-employed doesn't put them outside the reach of support enforcement, though it can change which tools are most effective. Since…
Read the full answer →After an eight-month marriage without children, entitlement to spousal support is possible but difficult to establish. Courts and the Spousal Support…
Read the full answer →Yes. Divorce is not required to bring an equalization claim in Ontario. Once spouses have separated — meaning they have decided to live separate and…
Read the full answer →A locked-in pension — one with restrictions on early withdrawal because it originates from workplace pension funds — can still be divided as part of…
Read the full answer →Selling the matrimonial home is often the central financial event in a separation. The net proceeds — after paying off the mortgage, real estate fees,…
Read the full answer →Receiving an equalization payment can affect eligibility for means-tested government programs in Ontario, including the Ontario Disability Support…
Read the full answer →Ontario provides an exemption from provincial land transfer tax when real property is transferred between spouses (or former spouses) as part of a…
Read the full answer →Yes. A spouse's student debt is a liability that reduces their net family property in the equalization calculation. Under the Family Law Act, a spouse…
Read the full answer →Under Ontario's Family Law Act, a surviving spouse can choose between receiving their inheritance under the deceased spouse's will (or intestacy rules…
Read the full answer →No. You do not need to be divorced to receive or pay an equalization payment in Ontario. The right to equalization arises when the marriage breaks down…
Read the full answer →Equalization works the same way in a second marriage as in a first. Each spouse calculates their net family property at the date of separation by…
Read the full answer →Settling equalization itself does not affect your ability to remarry. Remarriage in Canada requires a formal divorce order under the Divorce Act —…
Read the full answer →The standard equalization formula applies regardless of how long the marriage lasted — there is no minimum duration. A marriage of one year or two…
Read the full answer →No. Assets acquired after the valuation date — which is typically the date of separation — are not included in either spouse's net family property for…
Read the full answer →Money received as a gift from someone other than your spouse during the marriage can be excluded from your net family property — meaning it does not…
Read the full answer →Yes. Under the Income Tax Act (a federal law that applies in Ontario and all provinces), RRSP funds can be transferred directly from one spouse's RRSP…
Read the full answer →When the matrimonial home is the primary or only significant asset, the equalization calculation still applies but the practical outcome often reduces…
Read the full answer →Family property division in Canada is governed by provincial law, not federal law (except for pension division under federal statutes). Ontario's…
Read the full answer →Showing that a payor is capable of higher-paying work generally starts with their own history: prior earnings in the same or a similar role, their…
Read the full answer →At a default hearing, the recipient benefits from being able to show the court a clear, organized picture of what is owed and what has actually been…
Read the full answer →Because coercive control is defined by a repeated pattern rather than one event, the strongest evidence tends to be whatever documents that pattern…
Read the full answer →When a parent alleges that contact with a grandparent is actually harmful to the child, the grandparent's strongest response is usually specific,…
Read the full answer →Under the Family Law Act, certain types of property are excluded from a spouse's net family property calculation, meaning their value does not factor…
Read the full answer →Generally, an exclusive possession order becomes moot or is superseded once the final property issues are resolved. If a separation agreement or court…
Read the full answer →An exclusive possession order does not automatically determine who pays the mortgage or other carrying costs of the matrimonial home. The order…
Read the full answer →When both spouses want to remain in the matrimonial home and cannot agree, either can bring an exclusive possession motion and ask the court to decide.…
Read the full answer →No. An exclusive possession order means the other spouse must vacate and not return without the permission of the occupying spouse or a court order.…
Read the full answer →Yes. Exclusive possession orders can apply to any property that qualifies as a matrimonial home under the Family Law Act, including a cottage or…
Read the full answer →Exclusive possession orders often arise precisely because of children. Courts prioritize stability and continuity for children of a marriage, and…
Read the full answer →An exclusive possession order does not automatically change support obligations, but the financial reality of the arrangement often feeds into support…
Read the full answer →Income is one of the factors courts consider when deciding exclusive possession, but it is not determinative on its own. The court looks at the…
Read the full answer →You are not legally required to have a lawyer to apply for exclusive possession — you can represent yourself (self-represented litigants are permitted…
Read the full answer →There is no automatic legal rule preventing a separated spouse from having someone else in the matrimonial home, but the circumstances matter greatly.…
Read the full answer →Yes, exclusive possession can be granted even when there are no children, but it is harder to obtain. The children's best interests factor is often the…
Read the full answer →Yes. An exclusive possession order can be varied or terminated if there has been a material change in circumstances since the original order was made.…
Read the full answer →An exclusive possession order does not automatically include any financial adjustment for the spouse who must leave. That spouse will bear their own…
Read the full answer →Pets occupy an unusual legal position in Ontario family law. Pets occupy an unusual practical position in Ontario family law even though the statute…
Read the full answer →Yes. The exclusive possession provisions of Ontario's Family Law Act apply to the matrimonial home regardless of whether the couple owns it or rents…
Read the full answer →Equal parenting time does not prevent a court from granting exclusive possession, but it complicates the analysis. Where both parents spend equal time…
Read the full answer →An exclusive possession order under the Family Law Act is temporary, not permanent. It is a tool for managing the living situation during the…
Read the full answer →The timeline for obtaining an exclusive possession order depends on the urgency of the situation and the court's schedule. In genuine emergencies —…
Read the full answer →Yes. Domestic violence is one of the strongest grounds for an exclusive possession order, and courts can act urgently. An emergency motion can be…
Read the full answer →The Family Law Act and an exclusive possession order do not automatically assign property tax responsibility. This is typically addressed either in the…
Read the full answer →Yes. Spouses can agree between themselves about possession of the matrimonial home without a court order. This is often the preferred approach — it is…
Read the full answer →The Family Law Act sets out specific factors a court must consider when deciding whether to grant exclusive possession. The most important is the best…
Read the full answer →Ontario family courts have broad discretion under the Family Law Rules when deciding costs, and a judge weighs a range of factors rather than applying…
Read the full answer →Yes, where a parent could reasonably access government benefits or programs that would supplement or replace lost income, such as employment insurance…
Read the full answer →Making a report to a children's aid society that turns out to be false, or made in bad faith to gain an advantage in a parenting dispute, doesn't just…
Read the full answer →Ontario's arbitration legislation sets out specific qualification and training requirements a person must meet before they can act as a family…
Read the full answer →Family court costs share the same basic idea as civil litigation costs — the losing or less successful party often contributes to the other side's…
Read the full answer →A family court judge can order a children's aid society to produce relevant parts of its file in a parenting dispute, but it isn't automatic - a party…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, all spousal support orders made by a court are automatically filed with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) unless both parties opt out.…
Read the full answer →Yes, courts can look through a family trust structure and attribute dividend income flowing to or through it to a support payor where the structure is…
Read the full answer →Unlike family arbitrators, who are subject to specific, legislated training requirements including family violence and power-imbalance screening,…
Read the full answer →Yes, pursuing suspension of a federal licence is one of the enforcement tools available to the Family Responsibility Office for persistent, unaddressed…
Read the full answer →Two sets of Child Support Guidelines apply in Ontario depending on the legal relationship between the parents. The Federal Child Support Guidelines…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario has a process that allows a person who genuinely can't afford family court filing fees to apply to have those fees waived, based on their…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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