Copyright 2020  – Vaishali Sharma, Barrister & Solicitor. All rights reserved.

“DivorceFile.ca“, “BBA LAW” logo are trademarks owned by Vaishali Sharma, Barrister & Solicitor.

For the purposes of the following, ‘DivorceFile.ca‘ includes Vaishali Sharma, and any other employee or agent of Vaishali Sharma and/or DivorceFile.ca.

Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the DivorceFile.ca web site by any means is expressly prohibited without the written permission of Vaishali Sharma.

The following terms and conditions are subject to change at any time and without notice.

Click here to read our Privacy Policy.

TERMS & NOTICES
ezDivorce.ca is a owned and run by Adam Slater, Barrister & Solicitor (Ontario, Canada).

DivorceFile.ca offers limited legal services only. For legal services outside the specific service offerings of DivorceFile.ca, it is recommended that you contact another lawyer licensed with the Law Society of Upper Canada.

The only services provided by DivorceFile.ca are the proper completion and filing of the forms required to obtain a ‘simple’ divorce in Ontario, Canada, and the completion of basic separation agreements*. (Note: the use of the term ‘simple divorce’ in this disclaimer includes joint divorces in which the only request is for a divorce.) *Note: the separation agreement comes with its own, additional and significant disclaimer. Once you have reviewed the terms set out below, please go to www.divorcefile.ca/disclaimer to read the additional terms and disclaimers related to the separation agreements if you are considering purchasing one.

A ‘simple‘ divorce means that you are asking the court to grant you a divorce only and nothing else; you are not asking for the court to grant orders with respect to anything else, including, but not limited to: spousal support, division of property, equalization of net family property, issues regarding the matrimonial home, or orders with respect to child custody, access and support. You may be giving up significant and/or valuable rights by filing a ‘simple’ divorce.

Your purchase of DivorceFile.ca’s ‘simple’ divorce services will not include any advice with respect to your or another person’s specific legal interests, rights or responsibilities. You will not be ‘represented’ in court by Adam Slater or anyone else affiliated with DivorceFile.ca: the court papers will indicate that you are representing yourself. If your spouse contests the divorce or makes his or her own claim, you will either act for (represent) yourself or retain the services of a lawyer other than Adam Slater. If you purchase DivorceFile.ca’s services, you should not be under the impression that Adam is or will be ‘your lawyer’, ‘acting for you’, your ‘legal representative’, etc.

Obtaining legal advice from a lawyer before filing for divorce can help you understand the effects a divorce can have on your rights and obligations and it is highly recommended that you do so before purchasing DivorceFile.ca’s services as you will not receive such advice from Adam Slater or anyone else affiliated with DivorceFile.ca. (The Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario has prepared a publication entitled “What You Should Know about Family Law in Ontario”.  It is available in nine different languages at: http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/famlawbro.php. If you do not consult with another lawyer before using or even considering using DivorceFile.ca to prepare and process your ‘simple’ divorce, you should at least review this material.) (The Law Society of Upper Canada has a lawyer referral service: see  https://lso.ca/public-resources/finding-a-lawyer-or-paralegal/law-society-referral-service.)

The provision of the forms and their filing with the proper court do not constitute a statement, warranty, guarantee or otherwise that the court will accept your application for divorce, except as set out below.

Users and purchasers assume all risks associated with any transfer of information to DivorceFile.ca, and with any other use of this site. While all reasonable efforts have been taken to ensure the security of the information while in transit to DivorceFile.ca, it does not warrant such security, and is not liable for any damages which may arise as the result of interception, loss, theft or other action or difficulty.

DivorceFile.ca will not be responsible in any manner for direct, indirect, special or consequential damages caused in any way as the result of the use of this service. Please note that the information on this web site may change at any time without previous notice.

Links to other web sites or references to products, services, or publications other than those of DivorceFile.ca or affiliated sites do not imply the endorsement or approval of these web site products, services or publication by DivorceFile.ca

Additional Disclaimers

DivorceFile.ca will be not be responsible if your divorce is not granted for any of the following reasons: (1) your spouse cannot be served with a copy of the filed Application (see below); (2) your spouse contests the divorce or makes his/her own claim; (3) child support is not being paid in accordance with the Federal Child Support Guidelines; (4) you or your spouse make any court filing without using DivorceFile.ca (or pursuant to our specific instructions) in respect of such filing or motion; (5) where for any reason not within DivorceFile.ca‘s exclusive control, your Application for divorce is dismissed* or otherwise not granted by the court; or (6) there is no legal basis in either the Divorce Act or Family Law Rules for the court to not grant the divorce based on the terms of your application (e.g. where a local court makes its own rule or rules that are not part of the Divorce Act or Family Law Rules).

*According to the Family Law Rules, the divorce must be settled, withdrawn or scheduled or adjourned for trial within 425 days from when the Application for Divorce was first filed with the court – otherwise, the court will dismiss the Application. If DivorceFile.ca cannot make your second filing within the prescribed time for any other reason not within DivorceFile.ca’s exclusive control, DivorceFile.ca will not be responsible if your divorce is dismissed.

Fees, etc.

See www.divorcefile.ca/fees for a full description of our fees. You may cancel your purchase if your request to do so is received before the divorce forms are e-mailed to you (or provided to you if you choose to pay in person). You are not charged any fees until the forms are completed. The entire purchase fee is allocated to the drafting of the required court forms pursuant to the intake form that you submit. The court filing and serving of your spouse by regular mail are provided at no additional fee.

HST

All fees, except the fees that the court charges, are subject to the 13% Harmonized Sales Tax.

Court Fees

The court charges its own fees which are separate from the DivorceFile.ca fees. You are responsible for the court’s mandatory fees, which total $732 unless such fees are otherwise waived by the court. The $24 fee that the court charges for each optional divorce certificate is not included in the $732. (You will automatically get a final divorce order which is the paper granting the divorce.  The divorce certificate is ‘optional’: you need this when you re-marry. The court will only issue you a divorce certificate if and when you request (either in person or using a simple mail-in form) and pay ($24) for one.

Child Support

If child support is not being paid in accordance with the Federal Child Support Guidelines, the court may not grant your divorce until it is. See www.divorcefile.ca/support. DivorceFile.ca will in most cases not assist with your divorce if you are not paying in accordance with the Guidelines. If you are (or are supposed to be) the child support recipient and are not receiving child support in accordance with the Guidelines, a judge reviewing your ‘simple’ divorce may force you to pursue the proper Guidelines amount whether you want to or not. If this happens to you, you will either have to get your spouse to start paying the correct amount, or your will have to proceed with a separate application for child support. Note that DivorceFile.ca will not assist you with this separate application. You will be guided you to information, guides and forms that are available on the internet from the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Serving your spouse

Unless you are filing a joint divorce (where both you and your spouse sign all of the necessary paperwork), after your Application for Divorce is issued by the court, your spouse must be ‘served with’ (given) a copy thereof. The DivorceFile.ca fee includes service of the Application on your spouse by regular mail at no additional charge. Service by mail is only accepted by the court if your spouse signs and mails back an ‘Acknowledgment of Service’ form that is included with the mailing. If your spouse does not do this, he or she must be served in person. You will either have to arrange for a friend, family member or a pay a professional process server to do it at your expense.

Hague Convention Service: Does your spouse live outside of Canada? If so, you must read the information posted here. Substantial additional fees may apply for a divorce where Hague International Convention Service is required.

Contested Divorce

DivorceFile.ca only assists with simple, uncontested divorces. After your spouse is served with a copy of the issued Application for Divorce, he or she will have 30 days (60 days if served outside of Canada or the USA) to contest the divorce or make his or her own claim (by serving you with and filing specific court forms). If this happens DivorceFile.ca services will come to an immediate end. No part of the purchase price will be refunded.

Commissioning of Affidavits

Your purchase includes commissioning (swearing) of the required affidavit for divorce through video conference (we use Zoom) only. If you are not able to do this or prefer to do it in person, you would have to cover the cost of paying a lawyer or notary to commission the affidavit in person.

Missing Spouses

If you cannot find your spouse, DivorceFile.ca can assist you with the preparation and filing of a ‘motion to dispense with service’ or ‘motion for substituted service’. Click here for more details. If the court rejects the initial motion material, but gives instructions on what other steps are required, there may be additional fees of $50 to $200 to prepare and file the additional material. DivorceFile.ca cannot guarantee that the motion will be granted – however, to date, all such motions that we have filed have been eventually granted.

Timing

On average, it takes 2 to 3 months from when your Application for Divorce is issued by the court until it is granted. There is however no guarantee about timing. Some courts move much slower (either all of the time or occasionally) than others. If you are planning to remarry, you are strongly cautioned not to make any plans until you have your divorce certificate in your hands. See www.divorcefile.ca/process.

Additional fees that you may incur

Hague Service: Does your spouse live outside of Canada? If so, you must read the information posted here. Our fee does not include arranging Hague Service for you.

Supplemental Filings: A  rare but not unheard of occurrence is when a judge rejects something without paying close attention to what he or she is reading. If a supplemental affidavit that merely restates what was already stated has to be prepared and submitted, you will have to pay for $50 + hst for that supplemental filing.

If something is rejected based on a mistake that DivorceFile.ca made, we will cover the expense to fix it.

Separation Agreements

Our fee for a basic separation agreement is $300. The separation agreement is subject to the further terms at www.divorcefile.ca/disclaimer.

Communications

Virtually all communication between DivorceFile.ca and you will be through e-mail. It is your responsibility to inform us of any changes to your email address and any changes to your phone and mailing address.

File Abandonment/Closure

Our offer herein of free court filings and commissioning of the required affidavits terminates twelve months after you open your file with DivorceFile.ca. Divorces not completed within twelve months after you open your file with us shall be considered abandoned and permanently closed. Failure to communicate with our office for a period of six months shall be considered as permanent abandonment (and closure) of your file.