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How do I apply for a divorce with my partner?
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If you're married and want to legally end your marriage, you must apply for a divorce from the court.
If you both agree to get a divorce, you can apply together by making a joint application. If only one of you wants a divorce, that person can apply on their own.
To get a divorce in Ontario, you must meet certain conditions. For example, you and your partner must have had a legal marriage ceremony and you must show that your marriage has ended. If you don't meet all the conditions, the court may not approve your divorce application.
Religious divorce
A religious divorce doesn't legally end a marriage. But some religions require a religious divorce if you want to remarry within that religion.
The courts don’t give a religious divorce. You have to get that through your place of worship or religious organization. For example, to get married again in a synagogue, you need a Jewish religious divorce, which is called a get.
Matrimonial home
If you separate, each married partner has an equal right to stay in the matrimonial home and to a share in the value of the home. It doesn't matter who owns the home. You don't give up these rights if you decide to move out.
If you get divorced and you don’t own your matrimonial home, you still have a right to a share in the value of the home. But you no longer have an equal right to stay in the home. This is because you’re no longer married.
Talk to a lawyer
A lawyer can help you understand what the law says you have to do and what you can get when you divorce. If you can't afford to hire a lawyer, you may be able to find legal help in other places.
1. Decide whether to apply only for a divorce or add other issues
Before you apply to the court for a divorce, you have to decide whether to ask the court for:
- a divorce only, or
- a divorce and other court orders dealing with issues like custody, access, child support, spousal support, and dividing property.
You don't have to go to court and get a court order to deal with these other family law issues. You can deal with them by making a separation agreement or by getting help from a family law professional like a mediator.
But you may choose to ask the court to deal with your family law issues when you apply for a divorce. This might be because:
- You want a court order you can enforce.
- You don't think you can make an agreement with your partner, with or without the help of a lawyer or family law professional.
- There is a history of partner abuse, mental illness, or drug abuse.
There is no time limit to get a divorce. But there are time limits for other claims. For example, you have 6 years from the date you separate or 2 years from the date of your divorce to make a claim to divide property.
If you and your partner agree on these other issues, you can ask the court to make orders about them when you apply for your joint divorce.
Agree on divorce only
You and your partner may only agree on getting a divorce, but can't agree on your other issues. You can still ask the court for a divorce while you work on your other issues.
But if you have children, the court can’t give you a divorce if you haven’t made reasonable arrangements for them. This means the court checks to see if there is child support or other support arrangements for the children.
2. Fill out your divorce application
You have to complete the following documents when you and your partner apply for a divorce together:
- Form 8A: Application (Divorce): Only one of you needs to fill out the form and check off the "Joint" box. But both of you must sign and date the form. You're both called joint applicants because you’re applying together. There is no respondent. You can also use this form to apply for other orders if you agree on issues like custody, access, child support, spousal support, and dividing property.
- Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce: Each of you has to fill out your own form. It asks for information about you and your partner, your children, and any plans you made after separating.
You must swear or affirm that the information in your form is true before you sign it. You do this in front of a notary public or commissioner for taking affidavits. This person also signs and dates the form.
You can be charged for committing a crime if you don't tell the truth.
You can find a commissioner at any family court and they will sign your form for free. You can also find them at some ServiceOntario centres. Other people can also do this, for example, a lawyer, notary public, judge, or paralegal. But they may charge you a fee.
- Form 25A: Divorce Order: Write the orders you want the court to make. If the court agrees to make the orders you want, a judge will sign this form and it becomes your divorce order. You must fill out this form electronically on a computer. You can’t fill it out by hand
- Registration of Divorce Proceedings form, if you’re not filing online: You must fill out this form electronically on a computer. You can’t fill it out by hand.
The court sends this form to the Department of Justice. The department checks a database to make sure that no other divorce applications have been made for you and your partner in Canada. If there are no other applications, they send a clearance certificate to the court. The court has to get this certificate before it gives you a divorce.
You also need:
- Your original marriage certificate. You must get a certified English translation if your certificate is not in English or French. If you can't get a copy of your marriage certificate, you need to explain why in your Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce.
- 2 stamped envelopes if you file in person at a courthouse: One addressed to you and one addressed to your partner. The court will use these to mail a copy of your divorce order to both of you
If you and your partner agree on your other issues and want to ask the court for orders about those issues, you need to include other forms. For example:
- Form 35.1: Affidavit in Support of Claim for Custody or Access, if you're asking for custody or access. You must swear or affirm that the information in your form is true before you sign it.
- Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims), if you're asking for child support or spousal support, but not asking to divide property. You must swear or affirm that the information in your form is true before you sign it.
- Form 13.1: Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims), if you’re asking to divide property. You may or may not also be asking for support. You must swear or affirm that the information in your form is true before you sign it.
- Support Deduction Order, if you're asking for support.
- Support Deduction Order Information Form, if you're asking for support.
You can get these family law court forms from the courthouse or online. They are available in French and English.
3. Give your application to the court
You can now submit most family law forms and documents for a family court case online, including a divorce application. For more information, read the question How do I file court forms for my family law case online?
To file online, go to ontario.ca/familyclaims. You will need a ONe-key ID. All you need to create this key is a username, password and email address.
You file your documents online, including:
- Form 8A: Application (Divorce): scanned and saved as a PDF.
- Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce: scanned and saved as a PDF.
- Form 25A: Divorce Order: filled out electronically and saved as a PDF.
- A copy of your marriage certificate. If you were married in Canada, your certificate must be scanned and saved as a PDF. If you were married outside Canada, your certificate must be electronically issued and saved as a PDF. It cannot be a scanned PDF. And, if your certificate is not in English or French, you need a certified translation that is scanned and saved as a PDF.
You need to include other forms if you and your partner agree on your other issues and want the court to make orders about those issues. They have to be scanned and saved as a PDF. For example:
- If you’re asking for custody or access, Form 35.1: Affidavit in Support of Claim for Custody or Access
- If you’re asking for child support or spousal support:
Depending on how complex your case is, it usually takes about 30 minutes to file your joint divorce application online. Make sure you have everything ready before you start filing online. Once you've started, your session ends if you're inactive for 15 minutes. Your information won't be saved. You will need to start over again.
After you submit your court forms and documents online, you cannot view them online later. So it's important to keep a copy of everything for your records.
Pay your fees
The total cost to apply for a joint divorce is $632. You can pay filing fees online by Visa, Mastercard, or Interac debit card.
If you can't afford to pay the court fees, you can ask for a fee waiver certificate. This means you don't have to pay most court fees.
You can ask for a fee waiver certificate online. Before you submit your forms and documents online, you're told that if you can't afford to pay the fees, you can use the online service to ask the court to waive the fees.
Look for the "fee waiver" option in the dropdown menu.
If you get a fee waiver certificate, you can submit your documents online without paying any fees. Submit your documents under "Documents submitted with a fee waiver request or certificate".
The Ontario government's A Guide to Fee Waiver Requests tells you which court fees can be waived and how to ask for a fee waiver.
Get a response
If you file your divorce application on a business day between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., you get an email from the court the same day. If you file your application outside regular business hours, you get an email the next business day.
The email from the court will have:
- your divorce application with a court seal, which means your application has been issued by the court
- the date your application was issued
- a court file number
- the court location where your divorce application was filed
Don't delete the email. You should also print a copy or take a screenshot for your records.
4. Take your application to court if you don't file online
If you don’t meet the conditions to file online, or if you don’t want to file online, you can file your divorce application in person at a courthouse. If you're asking for child custody or access, you must file your application at the courthouse closest to where your chidlren live.
To file in-person, you have to go to a Superior Court of Justice or a Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice in the municipality where:
- you've been living for at least a year,
- your partner's been living for at least a year, or
- your children live, if you're asking for custody or access.
If you're not sure which court to go to, you can call the family courthouse in your municipality to ask.
You need to take the following documents with you:
- 3 copies of your Form 8A: Application (Divorce)
- Form 36: Affidavit for Divorce
- 3 copies of your Form 25A: Divorce Order or 4 copies if you’re asking for support
- Registration of Divorce Proceedings form
- Original marriage certificate and a certified translation if it isn’t in English or French
- 2 stamped, self-addressed envelopes
You need to take more forms if you and your partner agree on your other issues and want the court to make orders about those issues. For example:
- Form 35.1: Affidavit in Support of Claim for Custody or Access
- Form 13: Financial Statement (Support Claims)
- Form 13.1: Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims)
- 2 copies of your Support Deduction Order
- Support Deduction Order Information Form
The court clerk issues your application. This means they:
- give your application a court file number and write the number in the box on the top right corner of the form
- sign, date, and place a court seal on your application
You must then write your court file number in the box on the top right corner of every page for all your other forms.
Pay your fees
The total cost to apply for a joint divorce is $632. You must pay $212 when you file your application. Later you pay $420 when the court reviews your divorce application.
You can pay by cash, cheque, or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance.
If you can’t afford to pay the fee, you can apply for what’s called a fee waiver if you have a low income. If you get a waiver, it means that you don’t have to pay most court fees. There is more information about fee waivers on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website at www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca.
5. Get your Divorce Order
A judge reviews your documents to make sure everything is complete and to make sure you meet the conditions to get a divorce. The question Do I have to get a divorce? explain what these conditions are.
Usually, you don't have to go to court or meet with a judge. But, if the judge has questions for you, the court clerk contacts you with a court date or sends you a copy of the judge’s endorsement that tells you what you have to do.
If the judge doesn't have any questions, you get a divorce order.
The divorce order has the date it takes effect. This is usually 31 days after the date of the divorce order. This is the date when you and your partner are legally divorced.
The process takes about 3 months. It can take more or less time depending on the court you're applying to and if there are any problems with your paperwork.
If you filed your joint divorce application online and you provided an email address, the court emails a copy of your divorce order to you. You can purchase a certified copy of your order by going to the court where the order was made.
If you filed your divorce application at the courthouse, the court clerk mails you and your partner a certified copy of the order in the stamped envelopes you gave. You can also pick up your divorce order from the courthouse.
Certificate of divorce
After you get your divorce order, you can apply for a Form 36B: Certificate of Divorce. This certificate confirms the date that you and your partner legally divorced. This is usually 31 days after the date of the divorce order. You need a Certificate of Divorce if you want to get married again.
To get a Certificate of Divorce, you must go to the same court where you applied for your divorce and take a copy of your divorce order.
You have to pay a court fee of $24. You can pay by cash, cheque, or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance.