Family court moves in a fairly predictable order, even though every file is different. Enter the date your application was (or will be) issued below to see typical windows for each stage — and where your case is most likely to settle before trial.
“Working through the financial disclosure side of my divorce felt tedious, but every document request was explained so I knew why it mattered.”J.K. · Divorce · Peel Region
Shared with permission. Initials changed to protect client privacy.
Enter the date your application was issued (or expect it to be) to see typical windows for each stage.
One deadline is fixed. Almost everything after it isn't.
Under the Family Law Rules, a person served with a family court application in Ontario has 30 days to serve and file an answer — close to the only genuinely fixed date on this timeline. Every stage after that depends on your specific courthouse's schedule, how contested the issues are, and how complete financial disclosure is on both sides — incomplete disclosure is one of the most common reasons a case slows down.
Treat the windows above as a typical order of events to plan around, not a promise about your own file.
What a case conference and settlement conference actually do.
A case conference narrows the issues, checks that disclosure is complete, and sets a schedule — it isn't a decision on the merits. A settlement conference, later and before a different judge, goes further: that judge can give a non-binding view of how the unresolved issues would likely be decided, which is often enough to move both sides toward an agreement. The trial management conference and trial exist for the minority of cases that reach that point.
Enter your own date in the calculator above for your own version of this timeline.
For someone served within Ontario, yes — the Family Law Rules set 30 days to serve and file an answer after service. Different, longer timelines can apply if the other party is served outside Ontario.
No. Most contested cases resolve at or before the settlement conference, once both sides have seen the disclosure and heard a judge's non-binding view of the likely outcome. Trial is for the minority of cases where something genuinely can't be resolved.
A judge identifies the issues in dispute, checks whether financial disclosure is complete, and sets a schedule for the next steps. It isn't a hearing on the merits — no final decisions are made there.
Yes. This is a typical window built from common Ontario family court scheduling, not a promise for your file — your specific courthouse, how contested the issues are, and how complete disclosure is can shift every date after the 30-day answer deadline.
Book a 20-minute call with a family lawyer — $150, HST included, credited in full toward your file if you retain us (once payment is received), paid by Interac e-transfer.
You’ll pay $150 by Interac e-transfer on the next screen to confirm your time.