Home to about 323,103 people (2021 Census). We work online across Ontario — you do not need to come to an office.
Our family law work starts at $1,693.87, taxes included, published up front on our pricing page. Disbursements and any government fees are extra and billed at cost.
Vaughan sits in York, and family matters for Vaughan residents are heard at the York courthouse — the Newmarket Courthouse.
Ontario runs family matters through two different arrangements, and which one applies depends on where you live. In some areas the Family Court — a branch of the Superior Court of Justice — hears the entire file: divorce, property, parenting, support and child protection together. Elsewhere the work is split, with the Ontario Court of Justice hearing parenting, support, protection and adoption while divorce and property division go to the Superior Court. Which arrangement covers Vaughan decides whether your matter sits in one court or two, and it is the first thing we confirm when we open a file — before anything is filed anywhere.
Vaughan is a lower-tier municipality within York, and court jurisdiction in Ontario follows those boundaries rather than city limits — which is why the answer above is about York, not about Vaughan on its own.
You are not alone in this. Residents of Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill and Whitchurch-Stouffville are heard at the same court, because all of them sit inside York. There are 9 municipalities in York in total.
The Newmarket Courthouse handles family matters, Superior Court civil filings, Small Claims Court, Divisional Court appeals, enforcement of orders, a Crown Attorney's office and the Victim/Witness Assistance Program. It is not in Vaughan, so an in-person step means travelling to Newmarket — one reason we run as much of a file as possible online.
The Newmarket Courthouse is not a family-only building. Per the Ministry of the Attorney General's court directory it handles civil claims, youth criminal matters, criminal matters, a Crown Attorney's office, Divisional Court sittings, an enforcement office, family matters, Small Claims Court and a Victim/Witness Assistance Programme office. That matters practically: the counter you deal with, the filing hours and the other business going through the same registry are shared with those other streams.
Vaughan does not have its own courthouse for this work. The venue is in Newmarket, which serves York. Plan for the travel: attendances, and any filing that has to be done in person, happen there rather than locally. Most of what we do on a file is handled remotely and does not require you to attend at all.
Court venue confirmed against the Ministry of the Attorney General court directory (listing), 2026-08-09.
Most separations in Vaughan never see the inside of the Newmarket Courthouse. They are settled by a written separation agreement — parenting, support and property dealt with by negotiation, sometimes with a mediator. Court is what you use when agreement is not possible, or when you need an order only a judge can make.
That matters for cost. A negotiated agreement is a fixed, knowable piece of work. A contested court file is not, because its length depends on the other side. We quote the first as a fixed scope and are honest with you about when a matter has moved beyond it.
Two deadlines catch people out. A married spouse's claim to equalization of property is time-limited, and the one-year separation ground for divorce must be complete when the divorce is decided — not when the application is filed, so you can start before the year is up. Neither depends on where in York you live, but both are easier to miss when nobody has told you they exist.
If children are involved, the language changed: Ontario and the federal Divorce Act now speak of decision-making responsibility and parenting time rather than custody and access. Older agreements and older advice still use the old words, which causes confusion in Vaughan as everywhere else.
Divorce and property division are heard by the Superior Court of Justice. The Ontario Court of Justice handles parenting, support, child protection and adoption but cannot grant a divorce. For Vaughan, family matters are dealt with through Newmarket Courthouse.
No. Most separations in Ontario are settled by a written separation agreement negotiated between the parties, often with mediation. Court is for matters that cannot be agreed, or where an order is needed.
It varies with court volume. The one-year separation ground under the Divorce Act must be complete when the divorce is decided, not when the application is filed — so a spouse can start before the year is up.
Generally no for a separation agreement. Each spouse should have independent legal advice, and an agreement is much harder to challenge later when both parties had it.
Yes. We are an Ontario firm and work online across the province, so you do not need to be near an office to open a file.
Government sources for this topic. Rules change — confirm the current position before you rely on it.
Open your Vaughan file online in minutes — a licensed Ontario lawyer reviews it before a dollar is owed.