Starting or responding to a family law case for parenting time, decision-making responsibility and child and/or spousal support:
Expand all Collapse all Starting a case:Rule 13 of the Family Law Rules has information on financial disclosure .
If you, as the Applicant, are only asking for the Child Support Guidelines table amount, you do not need to complete a financial statement.
You must complete a Financial Statement Form 13, if you are asking for child support other than the table amount and/or if you are asking for support for yourself (spousal support) from the Respondent.
If you are the Applicant and you must complete a Financial Statement, then you will also need to fill out Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure to list all the documents that prove what you stated in your financial statement.
If you are a Respondent who has been asked to pay child or spousal support, then you must fill out a Form 13 Financial Statement and Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure. These should be served and filed together with your completed Form 10: Answer.
If you are the Respondent, you must complete the Answer form (Form 10) of the Family Law Rules . You can find the form here: Form 10
There are several other financial documents that you will need to include with your Financial Statement, including proof of your current income (for example, a pay stub or social assistance statement), and your Canadian Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Notices of Assessments for the past three (3) years. Read rule 13 of the Family Law Rules carefully to ensure that you have included all the documents that you are required to serve to the other party and file with the court.
Before you file your documents, you must remove all financial account numbers and personal identifying information. You do this by blacking out information like:
You must keep the original documents that shows this information. A judge might ask to see it.
There are additional forms that you must complete . For example, you must complete Form 35.1: Affidavit (decision-making responsibility, parenting time, contact), if you are making a claim for parenting time or decision-making responsibility for a child. You must sign this form in front of a commissioner for taking affidavits.
You should make three (3) copies of each of your documents – one for yourself, one for the other party and the original for the court.
You are also required to complete a continuing record that includes all the forms that you and the other party have completed . Rule 9 of the Family Law Rules tells you how to prepare your continuing record.
If you are filing your documents online, court staff will create and maintain the continuing record for any proceeding that was started using the Filing Online portal.
If you are filing your documents, in-person at the courthouse, you will need to create and maintain the continuing record.
Information regarding the requirements for the continuing record can be found here: Family Law Rules Continuing Record and Formal Requirements for the Continuing Record.
The Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) website includes information on the continuing record. You may find it here: What is a continuing record and how do I prepare one? - Steps to Justice.
Once you have completed your forms, you must get them issued by the court. This means that the court staff will sign, date, and put an official seal on them. The court staff will also give you a file number for your court case. They will also give you a date for your First Appearance at the court. You will also be given the Mandatory Information Program (MIP) forms.