Do we need a formal parenting plan in an uncontested divorce in Ontario?

When an uncontested divorce involves children under 19, you must provide the court with information about parenting arrangements as part of your application. You are not required to file a formal parenting plan in a separate document, but you need to complete the affidavit required for divorce applications involving children (often called the Children's Affidavit), which asks about where the children live, the nature of the parenting arrangements, and the child support in place.

A written parenting plan — setting out each parent's time with the children, how decisions are made, and how disputes will be handled — is highly recommended even if not mandatory for the divorce application itself. The more clearly your arrangement is documented, the less likely you are to have conflict later. A parenting plan can be incorporated into a separation agreement (making it a binding contract) or built directly into the divorce order as a parenting order.

If the court has any concerns about the arrangements for children described in your affidavit, it can ask for more information or decline to grant the divorce until those concerns are addressed. A vague or inconsistent description of children's arrangements is one of the most common reasons an uncontested divorce file is returned or delayed.