The parties in most family law court cases must attend a Mandatory Information Program, or MIP.

During these sessions, family law professionals will give you information about the court process, the options available to help you resolve your dispute, and the effects of separation on children and adults.

When you file your application with the court, you will be given information about scheduling and attending a MIP which can be done virtually and, in some locations, in person. Both parties must attend the MIP, but you should not attend the same session. You will get a certificate to prove you attended the session, which you must file with the court. If you haven’t participated in a MIP session, the court may prevent you from taking steps in your case.

The Office of the Children’s Lawyer (OCL) provides services to help resolve parenting disputes by taking into account the views and preferences of the children involved:

legal representation for the child(ren);

an investigation about the parenting issues which can be broad or more focused in scope, or

a Voice of the Child Report. The OCL needs a judge to request their involvement before they will consider providing services in a family law case.

A judge can make this request with or without the agreement of the parties. Once the judge makes the request, you will need to complete the OCL intake forms

If your case is at the Family Court branch, in all cases except those that deal with divorce, division of property or an arbitration award, a first court date will be scheduled by the Court when the application is issued. This date is called a first appearance.

If your case is at the Family Court branch, in all cases except those that deal with divorce, division of property or an arbitration award, a first court date will be scheduled by the Court when the application is issued. This date is called a first appearance. if the case has not been settled and your documents are complete, the court clerk will normally set a date for a case conference.

See Rule 39 of the Family Law Rules for information about the First Appearance Court.

For all other cases, the first court date will normally be at a conference before a judge or a Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO).

You can submit a request to file family court documents to the Ontario Court of Justice, Superior Court of Justice, including the Family Court Branch of the Superior Court of Justice and the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice (but not the Ontario Court of Appeal).

Any person commencing a court proceeding to change the terms of their support order must complete a Confirmation of Assignment form to obtain information about whether their support order is assigned. The ministry will only provide information to the support payor, the support recipient or his/her lawyer. When the form is completed it must be sent to MCCSS, Confirmation of Assignment Unit.

The Divorce Act has rules about giving notice about plans to move. When you have a court order under the Divorce Act for parenting responsibilities for a child (which means that you have an order giving you custody, access, parenting time or decision-making), you will have to give notice if you plan to move.

You need to give notice if you are planning to 1) move your child or 2) move away from your child.

The Divorce Act has rules about moves involving children. When you have a court order under the Divorce Act for parenting responsibilities for a child (which means that you have an order giving you custody, access, parenting time or decision-making), you can object to someone else’s plan to relocate your child.

If you have received a Notice of Relocation about the proposed relocation of your child and you do not agree with the plan, you can use this form to object to the relocation.

Ontario you may be allowed to transfer ownership of your vehicle to a family member without paying the retail sales tax. This can be done at a ServiceOntario centre.

OnLand is your online information source from the Ontario Land Registration and Writs system.

Real estate commissions are the fees you pay to your real estate agent for their services. It is usually calculated as a percentage of the selling price of the property. In Ontario, the standard real estate agent commission is 5% of the property price plus HST, but in practice, the commission can range anywhere from 3.5% to 5%. The total commission will be divided between the buyer and seller agents, where the buyer's portion is typically fixed at 2.5%.

Figuring out what would be the halfway between two locations is easy. Just enter the two addresses in our app above and we will find the midpoint that is halfway between for you. Add a point of interest if you want to meet at a specific type of location.

Brayden Supervision Services provides safe, successful, child focused parenting time where there are concerns for the physical safety or emotional well-being of the child.

Depending on your income, you can also find lawyers who offer sliding scale rates through JusticeNet, at www.justicenet.ca.

If your income is low, you may access services from Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). LAO offers a legal advice service over the telephone and in person in some court locations. You can make a request by calling LAO toll free at 1-800-668-8258.

Many people find a lawyer based on recommendations from friends or family members. You can also find a lawyer through the Law Society of Ontario at www.findlegalhelp.ca. This Service will give you the name of a lawyer who practices family law in your community who will provide a free consultation of up to 30 minutes. You can also call the referral service’s crisis line between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. They can be reached toll free at 1-855-947-5255 or 416-9475255 from the Greater Toronto area.