- Since March 1, 2021, amendments to the federal Divorce Act — and, for Ontario, the Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA) — retired "custody" and "access" from family law.
- Notice what didn't change: the underlying legal test.
- Relabelling "custody" as "decision-making responsibility" doesn't automatically shift who holds authority over what, and it doesn't change how a court weighs a case.
If you separated years ago, your court order probably says "custody" and "access." If you're separating now, a lawyer will talk to you about decision-making responsibility, parenting time, and contact instead. It's the same general subject — who decides what for your kids, and who has them when — but different words, and that shift can be confusing if nobody explains why it happened.
The short version: Ontario didn't invent new legal concepts out of nowhere. Federal and provincial lawmakers replaced adversarial-sounding language with terms that describe what actually happens day to day. Here's what changed, when, and whether it affects a case that's already underway.
When and Why the Language Changed
Since March 1, 2021, amendments to the federal Divorce Act — and, for Ontario, the Children's Law Reform Act (CLRA) — retired "custody" and "access" from family law. In their place: "decision-making responsibility," "parenting time," and "contact."
The reasoning was about tone as much as substance. "Custody" and "access" carried a winner-and-loser feel, as though one parent had the child and the other merely visited. Family law practice had already moved away from thinking in those terms; the vocabulary just hadn't caught up. The new terms describe roles and time rather than who came out ahead.
Old Term vs. New Term
| Old term | New term | What it actually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Custody | Decision-making responsibility | Authority over significant decisions for a child: health care, education, religion or culture, and significant extracurricular activities |
| Access | Parenting time | Time a child spends in a parent's care, including the day-to-day and emergency decisions made during that time |
| Access (for a non-parent) | Contact | Time a non-parent — commonly a grandparent — spends with a child under a contact order |
Notice what didn't change: the underlying legal test. Courts still decide these questions using the best-interests-of-the-child test, and that test wasn't rewritten by the terminology update.
Does the New Wording Actually Change What You Get?
Not by itself. Relabelling "custody" as "decision-making responsibility" doesn't automatically shift who holds authority over what, and it doesn't change how a court weighs a case. What matters is still the specific arrangement — who holds decision-making responsibility, and how parenting time is divided — not which word describes it.
A few things worth knowing about what stayed the same:
- Shared arrangements are still fully available. Joint decision-making responsibility and shared parenting time remain legally recognized options after 2021 — the language change didn't push the law toward sole arrangements or away from shared ones.
- The best-interests test is unchanged. It remains the only test used for parenting and contact orders, with the child's physical, psychological, and emotional safety, security, and well-being given primary consideration.
- Family violence is still an express factor. It was already, and still is, specifically named as relevant to how a parent's ability to safely co-parent is assessed.
What Happens to Older Orders That Still Say "Custody"
An order made before March 1, 2021 that uses "custody" and "access" doesn't become invalid just because the vocabulary changed. Courts, lawyers, and the Family Responsibility Office continue to interpret and enforce those orders on their original terms. That said, if you go back to court to vary an existing order — through a motion to change, for example — expect the updated order to use the current terminology, even where the underlying arrangement stays largely the same.
The New Terms, In Practice
- Decision-making responsibility can sit with one parent or be shared. It covers the big calls — which school, which doctor, which faith community — not routine day-to-day choices.
- Parenting time covers the rest: the day-to-day and emergency decisions a parent makes simply because the child is in their care at that moment, regardless of who holds overall decision-making responsibility.
- Contact is reserved for people who aren't the child's parent, most often grandparents, and is granted through a contact order rather than folded into a parenting-time arrangement.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to go back to court just to update the wording in my old order?
No. Wording alone isn't a reason to reopen a valid order. Courts generally only revisit an order's terms when there's a substantive reason to vary it, not simply to modernize its language.
Is "decision-making responsibility" the same thing "sole custody" used to describe?
Not exactly. It describes the same general idea — holding authority over major decisions — but the term itself is broader and doesn't carry the same all-or-nothing framing "custody" sometimes implied in practice.
Can grandparents still ask for time with a grandchild under the new terms?
Yes. That's specifically what "contact" and a contact order are for: time with a child granted to someone other than a parent.
Does using the new terminology change how child support is calculated?
No. Child support is assessed separately, using income-based guideline tables, and isn't affected by which parenting terminology applies in your case.
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