Parenting Agreement Checklist: Sections Every Ontario Plan Needs

If you are drafting your own parenting agreement, the hardest part is knowing what to include. A plan that covers only the weekly schedule tends to cause trouble the first time a holiday, a school decision or a move comes up.

This checklist follows the topics in Justice Canada's parenting plan checklist and adds the Ontario practicalities of making the plan stick. It is a starting point for discussion, not a template; a lawyer can review your draft.

What a parenting agreement does

A parenting plan can set out when each parent spends time with the children and who makes major decisions. It can come out of any family dispute resolution process, and parents can ask the court to include their agreement in a consent order.

Under the Divorce Act, parenting time may be allocated by a schedule, and a parent has exclusive authority to make day-to-day decisions affecting the child during their parenting time. Your plan should be clear about which decisions are day-to-day and which are major, so nobody argues about it later.

Whatever you agree, the court looks at the child's best interests. If you submit a parenting plan, the court must include it in the parenting order unless it is not in the child's best interests, in which case it may modify it first. Draft with the child's needs in front of you, not only your own.

The core topics to cover

Justice Canada's checklist covers communication, safety, parenting time schedule, transportation, changes to the schedule, childcare, siblings, grandparents and extended family, holidays and vacations, special days, travel notice, school choice, extra-curricular activities, religion and culture, health care, special needs, relocation, new partners, long work absences, mental health or substance use, dispute resolution and making changes to the plan. Here is how to group them.

Practical details that prevent arguments

Justice Canada's guide says parents should consider practical schedules, including transportation, and address vacations outside the province or country, passports and travel consent letters. Shared time works best when parents live close to one another. Say who drives, where exchanges happen, and what happens if someone is late.

A parenting order may also include requirements about the means of communication, for example video calls, between the child and a person with parenting time or contact. If a parent travels for work, spelling out how the child stays in touch can matter.

Children change. Justice Canada says children's views get more weight as they grow, that needs change with age, and that shared time tends to work better when children are older. It advises against asking children to choose a parent and suggests asking about what matters to them instead. The Divorce Act does not set an age at which a child's choice decides the matter, so build in a way to revisit the schedule as the child grows.

• Write the schedule so a stranger could follow it, with days, times and exchange locations.
• State who handles passports and who signs travel consent letters.
• Set out how much notice is needed before travelling and what information is given.
• Agree on how you will communicate with each other about the children.

Relocation, changes and disputes

Even if neither of you plans to move, include a relocation section. Under the Divorce Act, a person with parenting time, decision-making responsibility or contact must notify others with those entitlements of a change in residence. The relocation provisions require written notice at least 60 days before a proposed relocation, including the date, the new address and a proposal for parenting time. A relocation may proceed if a court authorizes it, or if the other party does not object within 30 days after receiving the notice and no order prohibits it.

Where parenting time is substantially equal, the parent who intends to relocate the child has the burden of proving the relocation is in the child's best interests. The court can also apportion the costs of exercising parenting time after a relocation. Your plan can set out a notice process and how travel costs would be handled, but a lawyer can explain how this interacts with the law.

Add a dispute resolution step, such as mediation, before either of you goes to court. A parenting order itself may direct the parties to attend a family dispute resolution process. For changes later, the court must be satisfied that there has been a change in the circumstances of the child since the order was made before it varies a parenting or contact order.

Making the agreement stick

A lawyer is not required to make a separation agreement, but you should get advice before signing because it can be difficult to get a court to set one aside. An agreement is binding if you understand its terms and consequences, both gave complete and honest financial information, and neither was pressured to sign.

An agreement can be filed with the Ontario Court of Justice or the Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice with an affidavit (Form 26B) and then registered with the Family Responsibility Office, but it cannot be filed at other Superior Court locations. Changing a final order or filed agreement on consent uses Form 15C, among other documents. Which route suits you depends on your court and circumstances.

What to do next

• Go through the topic list above and mark each as agreed, disagreed or not relevant.
• Draft clear, specific wording for the schedule, holidays and exchanges.
• Add sections for travel, relocation, and how you will change the plan.
• Agree on a dispute resolution step before court.
• Have a lawyer review the draft before anyone signs. Unbundled services and the Law Society Referral Service may help with cost.
• Ask a lawyer whether to file the agreement or seek a consent order.

Frequently asked questions