Family law in Canada: property, support and deadline checklist
Start with your province or territory, relationship status and the decision you need to make. This guide separates divorce, parenting, support and property, with Ontario, British Columbia and Québec examples, official tools and documents to prepare before a consultation.
Key points
- Under Canada’s Divorce Act, the separation route requires separation when the case starts and at least one year apart before determination. Divorce normally takes effect 31 days after judgment, subject to statutory exceptions and appeals; filing and finality are different dates.
- Ontario married-spouse equalization and BC property claims have different time limits and starting events. The deadline table below distinguishes those rules and exceptions; a divorce application does not itself resolve every financial issue.
- Québec’s parental-union regime applies from 30 June 2025 to qualifying de facto parents of a common child born or adopted on or after that date. Earlier parents may opt in. It does not give every unmarried couple a half share of every asset.
- The federal child-support tables effective from 1 October 2025 are the current tables for later periods. Where the federal shared-parenting rule applies, each spouse must have at least 40% of parenting time over a year; support does not automatically become zero.
- Parenting decisions under the Divorce Act turn on the child’s best interests, with safety, security and wellbeing first. Equal parenting time is not automatic. Family violence and existing orders matter; provincial terminology and processes can differ.
- Legal Hotline advertises a C$295 arrangement fee for an initial one-hour consultation with an independent Canadian lawyer, subject to availability and acceptance. The free telephone line provides AI general information; later legal work is separately agreed.
Canada has federal divorce law and provincial or territorial family laws. The Divorce Act separation route normally requires one year apart before the divorce is granted, but property and support rules have separate conditions and deadlines. Common-law property rights differ by province; Québec introduced a parental-union regime on 30 June 2025 for qualifying parents. Identify your applicable law and any deadline before signing an agreement or relying on a national summary.
Checked on 23 October 2026: Federal and provincial legislation, Justice Canada and Québec guidance checked on 23 October 2026. Ontario, BC and Québec are examples, not a complete survey of every Canadian jurisdiction. Sources and limits of this check.
Which law applies to your separation?
The federal Divorce Act governs divorce and associated parenting and support orders. Provincial or territorial law also governs family issues, including unmarried separation and married separation without a divorce application. Property is mainly provincial or territorial. The same relationship can therefore involve more than one legal framework.
Record where each spouse or partner and each child lives, whether you are married, and your cohabitation, marriage and separation dates. Identify existing court orders, agreements, pending proceedings and any proposed move. Cross-border, Indigenous or on-reserve property issues can require additional rules beyond these examples.
Use the Justice Canada family justice services directory to find the appropriate local route. Check the actual court’s forms, current fees and fee-relief process. A national guide cannot supply one court fee, one filing form or a guaranteed processing time for every case.
Divorce: separate the residence, separation and finality clocks
Under Divorce Act sections 3, 8, 11 and 12, marriage breakdown is the ground for divorce. The separation route below is distinct from the alternative grounds based on the other spouse’s adultery or physical or mental cruelty making continued cohabitation intolerable. A lawyer can assess the evidence; choosing a ground does not guarantee a faster result.
Separation is not simply a different street address: living separate lives under one roof may require evidence. Reconciliation periods totalling no more than 90 days, with reconciliation as their primary purpose, do not interrupt the statutory separation period. The court must also be satisfied about reasonable child-support arrangements before granting a divorce.
Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.
| Question | Ordinary Divorce Act rule | Practical check |
|---|---|---|
| Where can I start the case? | Either spouse must have been habitually resident in the province for at least one year immediately before proceedings start. | This residence year is separate from the separation year. Exceptional nonresident or foreign-divorce cases need specific advice. |
| Must I wait a full year before filing? | For the separation route, you must be separated when proceedings start and for at least one year immediately before determination. | An application can begin before that year is complete. Filing does not promise when judgment will be made. |
| When does the divorce take effect? | Normally on the 31st day after judgment; statutory early-effect conditions or an appeal can change this. | Check the effective date and divorce certificate before remarriage. Do not substitute this later date for a property deadline triggered by judgment. |
Parenting, safety and proposed moves
For a parenting or contact order under Divorce Act section 16, the child’s best interests are the only consideration. Physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and wellbeing take priority. The court considers care history, relationships, needs, views appropriate to age and maturity, culture, parenting plans and family violence, including coercive or controlling patterns.
The federal Act uses parenting time and decision-making responsibility rather than its former custody/access terminology. That change does not erase older orders or make every provincial statute use the same words. There is no automatic equal-time allocation or preference based on a parent’s gender under the federal test.
Existing orders remain binding while in effect. The Act requires trying family dispute resolution only to the extent appropriate; violence or safety concerns may make ordinary negotiation unsuitable. A move with a significant impact on the child’s relationships can engage specific relocation notice and objection rules. Get prompt advice before moving or responding to a notice; do not assume ordinary holiday arrangements cover relocation.
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911, or the local emergency number if 911 is unavailable. The Justice Canada family-violence help guide identifies police, victim services and local support. Available protection orders and procedures depend on the place and facts; a same-day order or a particular enforcement outcome cannot be promised.
Child support and spousal support use different tests
The Federal Child Support Guidelines generally combine a table amount with qualifying special or extraordinary expenses. Use the official table look-up for the relevant period: the 2025 tables apply from 1 October 2025; the prior tables apply to their earlier periods. Justice Canada confirms the update does not automatically rewrite existing orders; a court variation or applicable recalculation process may be needed.
Spousal support starts with legal entitlement, not a calculator result. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines suggest ranges for eligible spouses but are not legislation and do not establish entitlement. Under Ontario’s support definition, unmarried partners may qualify after three continuous years of cohabitation, or a relationship of some permanence if they are parents of a child. BC has its own definition. Québec’s de facto separation guidance says the relationship alone creates no spousal-support obligation, however long it lasted; contracts, child support and property claims are separate issues.
Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.
| Situation | What changes | Records to prepare |
|---|---|---|
| Ordinary federal table calculation | Usually the paying spouse’s Guidelines income, applicable province and number of children determine the table amount; income is not always just one payslip or tax-return line. | Tax returns and assessment notices, current income evidence and the period being assessed. |
| Each spouse has at least 40% of parenting time over a year | Section 9 requires considering both table amounts, increased shared-parenting costs and the circumstances of each spouse and child. It is not an automatic zero or a simple set-off in every case. | Actual parenting calendar, both incomes and child-related costs. |
| Special or extraordinary expenses | Section 7 has necessity and reasonableness tests and qualifying categories. Contributions generally reflect incomes, accounting for applicable child contributions, subsidies, benefits and tax treatment. | Invoices, reimbursement details and evidence of the child’s needs; not every activity is automatically an extra. |
| Adult child, income above C$150,000 or a spouse standing in a parent’s place | The Guidelines contain distinct rules. Turning 18 or exceeding the income threshold does not automatically end or reduce support. | Study, dependency and income evidence and the relevant family circumstances. |
| Both parents live in Québec | Québec’s model generally applies. In a divorce with one parent outside Québec, federal Guidelines ordinarily apply, with the agreement qualification explained in the official guide. | Both parents’ locations, incomes, parenting arrangements and existing order; use the correct model. |
See Québec’s child-support guide and Justice Canada’s income-disclosure guidance. Arrears, retroactive claims and enforcement raise additional questions; do not assume there is unlimited time or stop paying an existing order based on this table.
Common-law property rights: Ontario, BC and Québec compared
There is no single Canadian rule that a partner owns half your house after a fixed number of years. Relationship status, the applicable province, ownership, contributions, debts and agreements matter. Property division and spousal-support eligibility are different questions.
Québec’s parental-union regime began on 30 June 2025 for qualifying de facto parents of a common child born or adopted on or after that date. The conditions include their couple status and absence of a conflicting marriage, civil union or parental union. Eligible parents of earlier children can opt in. The regime creates a defined parental-union patrimony; it does not automatically divide every asset of every unmarried couple.
Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.
| Place and status | Starting point | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario: married spouses | The spouse with lower net family property generally receives half the difference between the spouses’ net family properties. | This is a statutory value calculation, not a division of every item. Matrimonial-home rules, deductions, exclusions, debts, agreements and the unconscionability exception matter. |
| Ontario: unmarried partners | No automatic married-spouse equalization simply because you lived together. | Ownership, contributions and enforceable agreements can create rights; potential claims are not limited to one trust label. |
| BC: married spouses or at least two continuous years in a marriage-like relationship | The Family Law Act generally provides equal entitlement to family property and responsibility for family debt on separation. | Excluded property, increases in its value, agreements and statutory exceptions matter. Sharing an address alone is insufficient; the child-based spouse definition does not itself activate Parts 5 and 6 property/pension division. |
| Québec: qualifying parental union | Specific patrimony and family-residence protections apply under the new regime. | Check the common child’s birth/adoption date, relationship conditions, any opt-in and any valid modification or withdrawal. Do not apply Ontario or BC rules. |
| Québec: other de facto relationship | The married/civil-union family-patrimony regime does not apply merely because of cohabitation. | Ownership, a cohabitation agreement and other available claims still require assessment; no general spousal-support entitlement arises just from duration. |
Sources: Ontario Family Law Act sections 4–5, Ontario property guidance, BC spouse definition, BC property provisions and the linked Québec government guides. These examples do not determine which province’s law applies to a move or cross-border asset.
Property deadlines: the trigger matters as much as the number
Check a deadline promptly, even while negotiating. Keep the actual separation, judgment, service and agreement dates, and identify the relief you want. The examples below are not universal limits for all family claims or a calculation of your personal last filing day.
Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.
| Claim | Ordinary time rule | Exceptions and traps |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario equalization under section 5(1) or (2) | Earliest of: two years after the marriage terminates by divorce/nullity; six years after separation with no reasonable prospect of resuming cohabitation; six months after the first spouse’s death. | Section 2(8) permits an extension only if its conditions are met: apparent grounds, delay incurred in good faith and no substantial prejudice. Do not assume an extension. |
| BC property/pension division or spousal support: married spouses | Under section 198(2), no later than two years after the divorce judgment is made or the marriage-nullity order is made. | The divorce-judgment date differs from the later effective date. Particular proceedings and statutory exceptions need assessment. |
| BC ordinary claims under section 198(2): unmarried spouses | No later than two years after separation, subject to the relevant spouse definition and claim. | The ordinary clock is suspended during qualifying family dispute resolution with a professional or a prescribed process; informal discussion alone should not be assumed sufficient. |
| BC challenge to a property or spousal-support agreement | Section 198(3): no later than two years after discovering, or reasonably being expected to discover, the grounds to challenge it. | This is a distinct rule. Specified spousal-support reviews are also excepted from the ordinary subsection (2) limits. |
Read Ontario sections 2 and 7 and BC section 198. Other provinces, court response dates, appeals, relocation and estate claims have their own rules. Calling Legal Hotline or booking a consultation does not lodge a claim or stop time.
What to gather for useful family-law advice
Prepare a short chronology and the documents you lawfully hold. Tell the lawyer first about an urgent hearing, served application, proposed move, sale or safety issue. Identify what you want decided so the first consultation can focus on the right questions.
Scroll the tables sideways to compare all columns.
| Issue | Bring or identify |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction and status | Province/territory and residence history for each person; marriage/civil-union details; cohabitation and separation dates; children’s birth/adoption dates. |
| Orders and deadlines | Every current order and agreement, court documents, service dates, hearing dates, relocation notice and divorce judgment/certificate. |
| Parenting and safety | Current and proposed care arrangements, a parenting calendar, relevant communications and details of protection orders or violence concerns. |
| Income and support | Available tax returns and assessment notices for the last three tax years, current earnings/business records, existing support arrangements and expense receipts. The required disclosure depends on the case. |
| Property and debt | Ownership records, account/pension/mortgage statements, relevant valuations, debt records and evidence of gifts, inheritances or contributions; include any cohabitation or separation agreement. |
| Questions and costs | Ask which law applies, what must happen before the next deadline, what evidence is missing, whether local free help fits, and what further work and fees would be required. |
- Identify your province, relationship status and immediate decision.
- Find the earliest relevant date in your actual orders, notices and statutory claim rules.
- Use the checklist to organise the key documents and questions.
- Choose appropriate official/free help or arrange individual advice; confirm any filing action separately.
Discuss your province, documents and next deadline with a lawyer
A focused consultation can help you understand the applicable route, the documents needed and the next decision. Bring the checklist and identify the most urgent question. A lawyer must assess your circumstances before advising on entitlement, an agreement or a filing deadline.
Legal Hotline advertises a C$295 matching and arrangement fee for an initial one-hour phone or video consultation with an independent Canadian lawyer. The lawyer charges no additional fee for that first hour. Suitability, acceptance and availability apply; further work and fees are separately agreed.
The free 1-855-529-1555 line uses an AI assistant for general legal information, not a lawyer giving advice. Legal Hotline is not a law firm. Drafting, filing, negotiation, court attendance and ongoing work are not included unless expressly agreed. Calling or booking does not extend a deadline or guarantee a legal outcome.
Official help and free legal information
Ask about local services before assuming a private consultation is your only option. Eligibility, subject-matter coverage and availability differ; information, mediation, brief advice and representation are different services.
Justice Canada family justice services directory
Find provincial and territorial family services, including information, mediation and assistance routes. Check each provider’s eligibility, charges and scope; not every listed service is free or provides representation.
Legal Aid Ontario: family legal issues
For Ontario family-law assistance and eligibility, call 1-800-668-8258 or Toronto 416-979-1446, Monday–Friday 8 am–5 pm Eastern Time. Financial and service criteria apply; these are client-contact hours, not a promise of immediate advice or representation.
Justice Canada family-violence help
Official routes to local victim services and assistance. In immediate danger call 911, or the local emergency number where 911 is unavailable. A general information line does not arrange emergency protection.
Common questions about family law in Canada
Can I file for divorce before being separated for a year?
Under the Divorce Act separation route, you must be separated when proceedings start, and at least one year of separation must have elapsed before determination. Either spouse ordinarily needs one year of habitual residence in the province before filing. Divorce normally takes effect 31 days after judgment, subject to exceptions and appeals. These are separate requirements, and filing early does not guarantee a completion date.
Does my common-law partner automatically get half the house?
There is no single Canadian rule. Ontario unmarried partners do not receive married-spouse equalization just through cohabitation, but ownership, contributions and agreements may matter. BC’s property regime generally covers married spouses and partners in a marriage-like relationship for at least two continuous years, with exclusions and exceptions. Québec now has specific parental-union protections for qualifying parents. Get the applicable province, relationship status and documents checked.
What changed for unmarried parents in Québec?
The parental-union regime began on 30 June 2025 for qualifying de facto parents of a common child born or adopted on or after that date. Couple and matrimonial-status conditions apply; eligible parents of earlier children may opt in. It creates specific patrimony and residence protections, not automatic division of every asset of every unmarried couple. Spousal support does not arise simply from the length of a Québec de facto relationship.
Is child support zero if we each have the children half the time?
No automatic zero applies. Under federal Guidelines section 9, each spouse having at least 40% of parenting time over a year requires considering both table amounts, increased shared-parenting costs and each spouse’s and child’s circumstances. Qualifying expenses also matter. Use the correct jurisdiction and period; Québec has a separate model in relevant cases, and new tables do not automatically change an existing order.
Should I wait until the divorce is final to deal with property?
Do not assume you should wait. Ontario equalization has the earliest of three specified limits involving divorce/nullity, separation and death, with a conditional extension power. BC’s ordinary married-spouse property clock runs from the divorce judgment being made, while its unmarried-spouse clock runs from separation; special agreement and dispute-resolution rules also matter. Identify the actual claim and dates promptly, including any urgent response deadline.
What does the C$295 family-law consultation include?
The advertised C$295 is Legal Hotline’s matching and arrangement fee for an initial one-hour phone or video consultation with an independent Canadian lawyer, subject to suitability, availability and acceptance. There is no additional lawyer charge for that hour. Further work and fees are separately agreed; drafting, filing, negotiation and representation are not included unless expressly agreed. The free telephone line gives AI general information, not individual legal advice.
Sources and update record
Checked on 23 October 2026. Federal consolidations displayed current to 30 September 2026 and BC to 13 October; Ontario’s current operative text was checked. Québec’s reform was checked against the enacted legislation and current government guidance; this page does not provide a complete Civil Code analysis. Examples are not a substitute for checking the applicable law, actual documents and local procedure.
- Divorce Act — jurisdiction, divorce, parenting and support
- Federal Child Support Guidelines
- Justice Canada: current and previous child-support table tools
- Justice Canada: 2025 table-update questions
- Justice Canada: income disclosure
- Justice Canada: Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines
- Justice Canada: relocation rules
- Ontario Family Law Act — property, support and deadlines
- Ontario: dividing property after separation
- BC Family Law Act — spouse definition
- BC Family Law Act — property and agreements
- BC Family Law Act — section 198 time limits
- Québec: parental union
- Québec: parental-union conditions
- Québec: parental-union patrimony
- Québec: de facto separation and support
- Québec: child-support model
- Justice Canada: family justice services
- Justice Canada: family-violence help
- Legal Aid Ontario: family-law assistance
- Legal Aid Ontario: contact hours and numbers
- Legal Hotline Canada: advertised initial consultation
- Legal Hotline Canada: arrangement model
- Legal Hotline Canada: customer terms
General information only, not legal advice. Updated . Checked against the sources above on 23 October 2026.