How Do I Make a Parenting Plan When Parents Live Far Apart in Ontario?

A long-distance parenting plan can set out who will care for the children during school breaks and holidays and how you will communicate, whether by phone, e-mail, text, social media or video chat, and because an informal plan can be difficult to enforce, it can instead be included in a separation agreement or a court order.

The law sets no presumed schedule, but a court allocating parenting time must give effect to the principle that a child should have as much time with each parent as is consistent with the child's best interests. Your plan can include video or phone contact, and a court can write it into an order. The Justice Canada checklist also says plans should be flexible enough to be realistic.

If you are divorcing and a parent later wants to move, the Divorce Act requires notice at least 60 days before the expected move, and the other parent can object within 30 days of receiving it, although the court may waive or modify the notice requirements, including where there is a risk of family violence. Parents who were never married, or who are not divorcing, cannot get a Divorce Act order and need a parenting order under Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act.