Family Law Process in Ontario: Steps From Separation to Order

Separation raises a lot of questions at once: where to file, what forms to use, and how long it will take. The court process has a recognizable order, even though every case moves at its own speed.

This roadmap follows the usual path from the first steps to a final order in Ontario. It is general information, and a lawyer can tell you how it applies to your facts.

Before you file: information and options

Ontario's family court guide does not make mediation mandatory before a family court case. The required early step is the Mandatory Information Program (MIP), where parties learn about dispute resolution options. You must attend a MIP session before your first appearance or case conference, and no later than 45 days after the case starts.

Some cases do not need it. You are exempt if any of these apply:

• You already attended a MIP for this or another case
• You agree on all matters
• The case involves only divorce, costs, an existing agreement or order, or family arbitration
• It is a motion to change a final order for child or spousal support only

A judge can also excuse attendance if your circumstances are urgent or attending would cause you hardship. Family Law Information Centres give information on separation, divorce, alternative dispute resolution and court processes.

Choosing where to start

Generally, you start the case in the municipality where you or your spouse lives. If parenting time or decision-making responsibility is involved, the municipality where the children live may apply instead.

The Family Court Branch of the Superior Court of Justice (Unified Family Court) sits in 25 locations, including Barrie, Lindsay and Peterborough, and all family law issues can be heard there. Outside those locations, you start in either the Superior Court of Justice or the Ontario Court of Justice, depending on the claims.

Starting the case and exchanging documents

A family case starts with an application (Form 8, 8A or a joint application). The respondent has 30 days to serve and file an Answer (Form 10), or 60 days if they live outside Canada and the United States. The applicant has 10 days to file a Reply (Form 10A).

Financial statements are Form 13 for support claims or Form 13.1 for property or debt claims. A first appearance before the clerk is required only at a Unified Family Court branch, where the clerk usually sets a case conference date.

Conferences, trial and what is decided

After the pleadings, a case moves through a case conference (8-page brief limit), a settlement conference (12-page brief limit), a trial management conference and then trial. The court guide gives no fixed timelines for these steps, and how long your case takes varies by court site, workload and the number of conferences.

Along the way, the court may deal with several issues. Some rules to keep in mind:

• Equalization applies to married spouses only. Each spouse values property owned on the separation date, less debts and excluded property, then subtracts net property owned on the marriage date. The spouse with the larger net family property pays half the difference.
• For married spouses, the full value of the family home must be shared even if it was owned before marriage, gifted or inherited, and a court can divide it differently only in very special situations where an equal split would be extremely unfair. This rule is part of the married-spouse property scheme and does not work the same way for common-law couples.
• A court claim for an equalization payment must be started within six years of separation or two years after the divorce is final, whichever comes first.
• A married spouse can ask for exclusive possession of the family home, even if it is in the other spouse's name.
• Common-law couples are not legally required to split property acquired while living together, though they may recover contributions to the other's property.

What to do next

• Write down your separation date, since property deadlines run from it
• Gather income records, a list of assets and debts, and any agreements or orders
• Decide where you or your children live, since this affects where you file
• Book your MIP session early so you meet the 45-day limit
• Check ontariocourts.ca for the local procedures at your courthouse
• Speak with a lawyer about which court and forms suit your claims

Frequently asked questions