800 plain-language Q&As about family. Browse below, or search the whole library.
Yes, but property issues must be resolved before or alongside the uncontested divorce — they cannot be left open. An uncontested divorce means there is…
Read the full answer →Yes. A documented disability that genuinely limits a parent's ability to work at their previous level, or at all, is one of the clearest circumstances…
Read the full answer →Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines, a court can impute income to a parent it finds is intentionally underemployed or unemployed, meaning their…
Read the full answer →Yes. The undue hardship provisions in the Federal Child Support Guidelines are available to either parent, not just the person paying support, so a…
Read the full answer →Yes, unusually high debts reasonably incurred to support the family during the relationship are expressly recognized under the Federal Child Support…
Read the full answer →Supporting children from a new relationship is one of the specific circumstances the Federal Child Support Guidelines recognize as potentially…
Read the full answer →An undue hardship adjustment does not automatically expire on its own after a set period; it generally remains in effect as part of the support order…
Read the full answer →High travel costs incurred to exercise parenting time are among the specific circumstances the Federal Child Support Guidelines recognize as a…
Read the full answer →Undue hardship is a specific, defined mechanism under the Federal Child Support Guidelines that lets a court adjust support away from the standard…
Read the full answer →It can be, even though it wasn't substantiated. An unfounded or closed investigation doesn't disappear from the record entirely, and either parent can…
Read the full answer →Child support is the area most affected by income changes, and it is also the area where an update may be legally required even without both parties…
Read the full answer →In some circumstances, yes — the Family Law Rules allow certain motions, including some urgent ones, to be decided based entirely on written materials,…
Read the full answer →Generally, an Ontario court is cautious about varying a parenting order made by another Canadian province's court, and will typically only do so where…
Read the full answer →Yes - either parent can bring a motion to change, asking the family court to vary an existing parenting time order because of a protection concern…
Read the full answer →Stock options that have vested and are exercised generally result in a real financial benefit to the parent, the difference between the exercise price…
Read the full answer →Yes. Where a party has a documented pattern of bringing repeated proceedings, motions, or appeals that are without merit, and the pattern shows the…
Read the full answer →Both are voluntary arrangements a parent can enter into with a children's aid society, but they involve very different levels of intervention. A…
Read the full answer →Wage garnishment through the Family Responsibility Office generally works through a support deduction order, which directs a payor's employer to deduct…
Read the full answer →A child's own wishes about seeing extended family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings, are one of the factors a court weighs under the…
Read the full answer →On top of the monthly base amount, the Child Support Guidelines provide for "special or extraordinary expenses" — often called "section 7 expenses" —…
Read the full answer →The Family Law Act lists specific categories of property that a spouse may exclude from their net family property. These include: gifts or inheritances…
Read the full answer →When calculating net family property, a spouse subtracts all debts and liabilities owed on the valuation date. This includes mortgages, car loans,…
Read the full answer →Major decisions covered by decision-making responsibility typically include: choice of school and school type (public, private, French immersion,…
Read the full answer →To begin a divorce in Ontario, you file with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The main document is the Application for Divorce — either a joint…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, "separation" does not require any formal court filing or government registration. A married couple is considered separated from the date…
Read the full answer →Ontario courts weigh a broad set of factors when deciding whether to award support and how much. Under the Divorce Act, the court must consider the…
Read the full answer →Full financial disclosure is a fundamental requirement for a valid and enforceable separation agreement in Ontario. The general principle is that each…
Read the full answer →A first case conference is an informal, non-evidentiary meeting with a judge, required under the Family Law Rules before most contested motions can be…
Read the full answer →A trial management conference is held shortly before the trial date and focuses on the practical logistics of the trial itself, rather than on…
Read the full answer →A parenting order made by an Ontario court is legally binding. If your co-parent is consistently refusing to let you see your child as ordered, you…
Read the full answer →If the parent who holds sole decision-making responsibility dies, the surviving parent does not automatically resume full parental authority in all…
Read the full answer →If your ex-spouse is not complying with a separation agreement in Ontario, your first step is to file the agreement with the court, if you have not…
Read the full answer →If your spouse refuses to negotiate or sign a separation agreement, you cannot force them to do so — agreements are voluntary contracts. However, their…
Read the full answer →When married spouses in Ontario separate, joint bank accounts are part of the net family property calculation. The balance in a joint account as of the…
Read the full answer →Divorce does not automatically transfer ownership of the matrimonial home. Ownership and possession are separate questions from equalization. On…
Read the full answer →When parents share joint decision-making and cannot agree on a major decision, the matter must be resolved — neither parent can simply proceed…
Read the full answer →Spousal support obligations generally terminate on the death of the recipient. Because the purpose of support is to meet the recipient's personal…
Read the full answer →If one or both spouses own a business, the business interest is an asset that must be valued as of the valuation date and included in that spouse's net…
Read the full answer →When a divorce involves children under 19, the court must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for each child's financial support…
Read the full answer →Under Ontario's family property equalization system, debts reduce a spouse's net family property — meaning debts are factored into who owes whom the…
Read the full answer →The matrimonial home has special protection under Ontario's Family Law Act. Unlike other property, both spouses have an equal right to possession of…
Read the full answer →Pensions are property under the Family Law Act and must be included in net family property. The portion of a pension that accrued during the marriage…
Read the full answer →Property you owned when you got married is deducted from your net family property — you subtract its value (at the date of marriage) from your assets…
Read the full answer →In Ontario, RRSP balances are included in the net family property calculation for married spouses. The value of each spouse's RRSP on the date of…
Read the full answer →Remarriage by the support recipient is a material change in circumstances that can justify reducing or terminating spousal support, but it does not…
Read the full answer →You must provide proof of your marriage when filing for divorce in Ontario — the court will not process the application without it. If you have…
Read the full answer →If you give the required notice of relocation and your co-parent objects, they must file a court application within 30 days of receiving your notice.…
Read the full answer →Inability to pay the equalization amount in a lump sum does not eliminate the obligation, but courts have tools to accommodate financial hardship.…
Read the full answer →If you suspect your spouse is hiding assets or undervaluing property in the equalization process, Ontario family law courts have strong tools to…
Read the full answer →If your spouse refuses to leave the matrimonial home after separation, your first option is to try to reach a voluntary arrangement — sometimes…
Read the full answer →The Divorce Act has a built-in allowance for reconciliation attempts. If you and your spouse resume cohabitation within the one-year separation period…
Read the full answer →Under the Child Support Guidelines, "income" means your total annual income as set out in your federal income tax return, with adjustments. This…
Read the full answer →In courthouses that offer case management, a case management judge is a single judge assigned to oversee a particular family file continuously, rather…
Read the full answer →A cohabitation agreement is a written contract between two people who are living together (or plan to live together) outside of marriage. In Ontario,…
Read the full answer →A declaration of parentage is a court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that formally establishes who a child's legal parents are. It is…
Read the full answer →A marriage contract — sometimes called a prenuptial agreement (before marriage) or postnuptial agreement (after marriage) — is a domestic contract…
Read the full answer →Under Ontario's Family Law Act, a matrimonial home is any property that a married couple ordinarily occupied as their family residence on the date they…
Read the full answer →A motion to change is the standard process for asking a court to vary an existing final family court order or a filed agreement dealing with support,…
Read the full answer →A separation agreement is a written contract between two spouses (or former common-law partners) that sets out the terms of their separation. In…
Read the full answer →An equalization payment is a lump-sum or structured payment made by one spouse to the other at the end of a marriage to balance the economic gains each…
Read the full answer →An uncontested divorce is one where both spouses agree on all the issues related to the end of their marriage — parenting arrangements, child support,…
Read the full answer →A Certificate of Divorce is an official document issued by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that confirms your divorce is final and legally…
Read the full answer →Child support in Ontario is calculated using the federal Child Support Guidelines, which apply to all cases involving children of separating or…
Read the full answer →Collaborative divorce is a structured dispute resolution process in which both spouses and their lawyers commit in writing to resolving all issues…
Read the full answer →Ontario law recognizes three main bases for entitlement to spousal support: compensatory, non-compensatory (needs-based), and contractual (based on an…
Read the full answer →"Decision-making responsibility" is the term used in the federal Divorce Act for what used to be called "legal custody." It refers to the authority to…
Read the full answer →A "desk divorce" is the informal term Ontarians use for an uncontested divorce that is processed by a judge reviewing the written materials — without…
Read the full answer →A 50/50 or "equal parenting time" arrangement means the child spends roughly half their time with each parent. Common schedules include alternating…
Read the full answer →An exclusive possession order is a court order that gives one spouse the right to live in the matrimonial home to the exclusion of the other, even if…
Read the full answer →Family mediation is a process where a neutral, trained third party (the mediator) helps you and your spouse work through disagreements about parenting,…
Read the full answer →Full and frank financial disclosure is a cornerstone of equalization proceedings in Ontario. Both spouses must complete a sworn financial statement…
Read the full answer →Under the federal Divorce Act, which applies throughout Canada including Ontario, a divorce can only be granted on the basis of marriage breakdown. The…
Read the full answer →A "material change in circumstances" is the legal threshold that must be met before a court will reconsider an existing parenting order. The change…
Read the full answer →Net family property (NFP) is a concept under Ontario's Family Law Act that is central to how married spouses divide their assets when they separate.…
Read the full answer →Parallel parenting is a co-parenting model designed for high-conflict situations where direct communication between parents is not safe or productive.…
Read the full answer →"Parenting time" is the term used in the federal Divorce Act to describe the time a child spends with each parent after separation. It replaced the…
Read the full answer →When a marriage ends in Ontario, spouses do not automatically split everything down the middle. Instead, the law uses a process called property…
Read the full answer →Under the Divorce Act, a parent who gives notice of a proposed relocation must include a proposed parenting plan as part of that notice. Courts and the…
Read the full answer →Under the federal Divorce Act, "relocation" has a specific legal meaning: it is a change in residence by a child or a parent that would be likely to…
Read the full answer →No. Ontario does not issue "legal separation" certificates or orders. Separation is a factual state — it occurs when you and your spouse decide to live…
Read the full answer →Spousal support is not automatic in every divorce. Under the Divorce Act, a court will order spousal support only if there is entitlement — meaning the…
Read the full answer →Spousal support is a payment from one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. Its purpose is to address financial disadvantage caused by the…
Read the full answer →No — equalization and child support are completely different obligations. Equalization is a property entitlement between spouses: it divides the…
Read the full answer →If both spouses calculate identical net family property figures, the equalization payment is zero. The formula — pay half the difference — produces…
Read the full answer →Yes. A court application to receive an equalization payment must be started within two years of the date a divorce order is made, within six years of…
Read the full answer →Yes. Ontario imposes strict deadlines for equalization claims. Under the Family Law Act, a court application for equalization must be started within…
Read the full answer →In most cases, yes. The Divorce Act requires that you and your spouse have been separated for at least one year before a judge will grant a divorce…
Read the full answer →Under the Family Law Act, the valuation date is generally the earliest of: the date the spouses separated with no reasonable prospect of resuming…
Read the full answer →The valuation date is the date used to calculate each spouse's net family property for the equalization process. Under the Family Law Act, the…
Read the full answer →Net family property includes virtually every type of asset a spouse owns at the valuation date: real estate (including the matrimonial home and…
Read the full answer →Once you are separated in Ontario, a number of legal rights and obligations come into effect immediately. The key areas are property, spousal support,…
Read the full answer →A well-drafted separation agreement in Ontario should address all the major issues arising from the separation so that both parties have a clear,…
Read the full answer →Entitlement to spousal support can arise at separation, not only upon divorce. Under the Family Law Act, a married or qualifying common-law spouse can…
Read the full answer →There is no single fixed deadline for paying equalization — it depends on how the matter is resolved. If spouses negotiate a separation agreement, they…
Read the full answer →If you are a married couple and the home is the matrimonial home, both of you have an equal right to live there after separation, regardless of who…
Read the full answer →A "without notice" motion, sometimes called ex parte, is a request to the court for an order made without telling the other party beforehand or giving…
Read the full answer →A writ of seizure and sale is an enforcement instrument filed with the sheriff's office that allows a debt, including unpaid support, to be collected…
Read the full answer →Before conception, intended parents and the surrogate (and her spouse or partner, if she has one) should sign a written agreement addressing who is…
Read the full answer →To obtain a written contempt finding, the parent bringing the motion generally needs to satisfy the court, to a high standard of proof, that a clear…
Read the full answer →Written correspondence - cards, letters, messages - can help, but it's unlikely to be enough on its own to establish standing if it's the only form of…
Read the full answer →Links go to the official consolidated text. Legislation changes — confirm you are reading the current version.
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