Child Custody & Parenting Arrangements in Ontario

When parents separate in Ontario, determining how decisions will be made for children and how time will be shared between households is among the most important — and most emotionally challenging — issues families face. The outcome of these arrangements directly affects your children’s stability, their relationships with both parents, and the foundation of their lives going forward.    

At Soica & Associates, our family lawyers take a child-focused, strategic approach: helping parents understand the updated legal framework, develop practical parenting plans, and — when necessary — advocate effectively in court for arrangements that genuinely serve the best interests of their children.

Decision-Making Responsibility and Parenting Time: The Updated Legal Framework

Since the 2021 amendments to Canada’s Divorce Act, Ontario courts no longer use the terms ‘custody’ and ‘access.’ These have been replaced by two distinct legal concepts:

• Decision-making responsibility refers to the authority to make significant decisions about a child’s life — including decisions about education, healthcare, religious upbringing, and extracurricular activities. It can be allocated to one parent alone (sole decision-making responsibility) or shared between both (joint decision-making responsibility).
• Parenting time refers to the time the child spends in the care of each parent. A parenting schedule sets out where the child lives and when — including daily arrangements, holidays, school breaks, and special occasions.

Decision-making responsibility and parenting time are separate issues that do not have to mirror each other. The right arrangement depends entirely on what serves the best interests of the specific child.

Child Custody Laws in Ontario: The Best Interests Standard

The overriding principle governing all parenting decisions under the Divorce Act is the best interests of the child. When assessing best interests, courts are required to consider a broad set of factors, including:

• The nature and strength of the child’s relationships with each parent, siblings, and other significant people in their life
• Each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent — courts take a negative view of parents who attempt to undermine the other parent’s relationship with the child
• The child’s own views and preferences, given weight appropriate to their age and maturity
• The child’s cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual upbringing and heritage
• Each parent’s ability to care for and meet the child’s physical, emotional, psychological, and developmental needs
• Any family violence or history of abuse, its nature and severity, and its impact on the child and the affected parent
• The stability and continuity of the child’s existing care arrangements and the potential disruption of a change

Courts do not automatically favour mothers over fathers. The analysis is entirely child-centred and fact-specific. Our lawyers help you present the strongest possible picture of your parenting role and your child’s needs.

What Is a Parenting Plan and Do You Need One?

A parenting plan is a written document that sets out the arrangements for how parents will share time with their children and make decisions on their behalf. From our experience, some parents may choose to divert from the Parenting Plan on mutual consent but it is important to have one, particularly in cases where conflict arises.

A well-crafted parenting plan addresses:

• Day-to-day schedule — where the child lives on each day of the week, including school nights, weekends, and regular weekday arrangements
• Holiday and vacation schedule — how statutory holidays, school breaks, birthdays, summer vacations, and special events are divided year to year
• Decision-making protocols — how major decisions will be made, what constitutes a ‘major decision,’ and what happens if parents disagree
• Communication arrangements — how and when each parent may communicate with the child when they are in the other parent’s care
• Travel and relocation provisions — protocols for travel outside Ontario and notice requirements for proposed relocations
• Dispute resolution mechanism — how disagreements about the plan will be handled in the future, typically starting with direct communication, then mediation

A detailed, practical parenting plan dramatically reduces the risk of future conflict and provides children with the stability and predictability they need. Our lawyers draft comprehensive parenting plans or review and improve existing proposals.

Can I Move With My Child After Separation in Ontario?

Relocation is one of the most significant and contested issues in Ontario parenting law. Under the Divorce Act, a parent who intends to relocate with a child must give the other parent at least 60 days’ written notice before the planned move. The non-relocating parent can object, and the court will then decide whether the relocation is permitted.

When assessing a relocation request, courts apply the best interests of the child standard. Where parenting time is substantially equal, the relocating parent must establish that the relocation is in the child’s best interests. Where one parent has the majority of parenting time, the objecting parent must establish that the relocation is not in the child’s best interests. Relocation decisions are among the most consequential in Ontario family law — seek legal advice immediately if a move is being considered.

How to Change a Custody Order in Ontario

An existing parenting order or agreement can be varied if there has been a material change in circumstances since the original order was made. A material change is one that, had it been known at the time, would likely have produced a different order.

Common bases for a variation application include: a significant change in a child’s needs, preferences, or circumstances; a change in a parent’s work schedule, living arrangements, or health; the relocation of a parent; concerns about the child’s safety or wellbeing in the current arrangement; or a breakdown in the co-parenting relationship. When a material change is established, the court reassesses the arrangement based on the current best interests of the child.

When Parents Cannot Agree: Your Options

• Mediation. A neutral mediator facilitates structured discussions to help parents reach a parenting agreement. Mediation is confidential, less adversarial than court, and significantly faster and less expensive. We strongly encourage this path where it is safe and appropriate.
• Collaborative family law. Both parents and their trained collaborative lawyers work together in structured meetings to develop a parenting arrangement without going to court. A family professional assists both parents, instead of the lawyers taking an adversarial approach.
• Section 30 assessment. In contested parenting cases, a court may order a formal assessment of the child and family by a mental health professional, who provides a report with recommendations.
• Court proceedings. Where out-of-court options have been exhausted or are inappropriate, a court will make binding decisions about parenting arrangements. In urgent situations — including safety concerns — emergency orders can be obtained on very short notice.

Child Support: Connected but Separate

Child support is a separate legal issue from parenting arrangements — but the two are closely connected. In Ontario, child support is determined by the Child Support Guidelines and is primarily based on the payor parent’s income and the number of children. Parenting time arrangements directly affect the support calculation in cases where each parent has the child for at least 40% of the time. See our Child Support practice area for detailed information.

Costs and Timelines

Agreed parenting plan (negotiated): Often completed in 4–12 weeks as part of the overall separation process.

Mediated parenting arrangement: Typically 2–6 months.

Contested parenting proceedings: Case conference within 3–5 months; motions and trial may take 1–3+ years.

Variation application: Typically 6–18 months if contested.

→ For most families, a negotiated or mediated parenting plan produces a better outcome for children than a court-imposed order.