Is Child Custody Different for Common-Law Parents in Ontario?

Whether you were married does not decide child support in Ontario, so common-law parents have the same basic support duty as married parents. Child support does not depend on marriage: every parent must support their child to the extent they are able, and the child or the child's parent may apply. Decision-making responsibility and parenting time are separate questions from support, and the details depend on your family's circumstances.

Parentage also matters for support. Unmarried partners who have a child together can qualify as spouses for support without three years of cohabitation, as long as the relationship has "some permanence". The support rules refer to people who are parents of a child under s. 4 of the Children's Law Reform Act.

A cohabitation agreement cannot fix decision-making responsibility or parenting time for children, so those questions cannot be settled in advance that way. A court may disregard a child support term in a domestic contract, such as a cohabitation agreement, that is unreasonable having regard to the child support guidelines. If you are separating, a lawyer can explain how to document parentage and set up arrangements that work for your child.