Department of Justice Canada

A parenting plan outlines how parents will raise their children after separation or divorce. It describes how parents not living together will care for and make important decisions about their children in both homes. You can agree to any type of parenting arrangement, but you should focus on what...

This guide is for parents. It contains helpful information about parenting after separation and divorce. You can use this guide if you’re making a parenting arrangement under the Divorce Act. This guide may still be useful to you even if the Divorce Act doesn’t apply to your situation. The basic...

This Fact Sheet provides general information about child support under the Divorce Act.

This Fact Sheet provides general information about getting a divorce in Canada under the federal Divorce Act. This Act applies when at least one spouse has resided in a Canadian province or territory for at least one year before they apply for a divorce.

This document will give you some general information about why it is important to hear from children in family law matters, and help you understand the changes to the Divorce Act that make a child’s views and preferences. An important consideration in determining the best interests of the child.

The new Divorce Act includes a framework to guide divorced or divorcing parents, family justice professionals and courts in situations when a parent plans to move their child or to move away from their child. There are rules about: new steps to follow when a parent plans to move, and how a court...

This guide has general information, instructions and worksheets, as well as other tools to help you make decisions about child support when you separate or divorce.

This booklet has two purposes. First, it's meant to help children learn some basic facts about family law and give them an idea of the processes that parents may go through when they separate. Second, it's meant to help children realize that it's normal for them to have an emotional response to...

This Fact Sheet provides general information about spousal support under the Divorce Act. The Divorce Act applies to married couples who are divorcing. Provincial or territorial laws apply to unmarried or common-law couples that are separating and to married couples that are separating but not...

This resource provides insight on parenting agreements made after the new Divorce Act came into force on March 1, 2021.

Both parents have a legal obligation to support their children financially after separation or divorce. Children have a legal right to that support. Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines parents need to provide complete and up-to-date income information to ensure a fair amount of support....

This Fact Sheet provides general information about the 2017 update to the Federal Child Support Tables (Federal Tables). The Federal Tables are part of the Federal Child Support Guidelines (regulations under the Divorce Act). The Federal Tables are based on a mathematical formula that takes into...

Acting in the best interests of the child is the number one priority in all family law matters involving children. The new Divorce Act sets out duties for parents and others to help them act in the best interests of the child, including when courts are involved. Changes to the Divorce Act also...

This fact sheet provides information on family violence. Family violence occurs when a person abuses someone in their family. It can happen to anyone - both children and adults. Family violence can be words, acts or even not giving someone the care they need. It may be a single incident, or a...

This paper explores the issues that arise in child protection proceedings involving family violence, where there are concurrent family and/or criminal proceedings. A particular focus is on issues in concurrent proceedings in cases involving intimate partner violence, though there is some...

This report is intended to focus on best practices related to cases making their way through the criminal justice system, where there are multiple proceedings – including family law and/or child protection proceedings. The goal is to identify practices that promote the safety of all family...

The purpose of this report is to document, from a family law perspective, best practice options when domestic violence cases are making their way through multiple proceedings (criminal, civil, family, and child protection). The intention is to identify practices that can promote the safety of...

An inventory of government based family justice services including mediation, parent education and information, family court services, information and resource centers, support establishment services, support recalculation services, services for children, supervised access, inter-jurisdictional...

The Survey of Family Courts (SFC) is a long-standing online survey that documents detailed information about the contents of court orders and separation agreements. This snapshot of data collected between 2018 and 2019 focuses on custody and access, legal representation, and the relationship...

The Department of Justice Canada Research and Statistics Division, in collaboration with the Coordinating Committee of Senior Officials - Family Justice Research Sub-committee, reviewed research and evaluation studies on the use of technology in the family justice system. The purpose of the...