Simple Divorce in Ontario

DivorceFile.ca prepares and files ‘simple’ divorces only. A ‘simple’ divorce means that you are only asking the court for a divorce and nothing else – you are not asking for any orders with respect to spousal support, child custody/access/support, division of property and/or debts, pensions, etc. If you want to court to deal with issues other than the actual divorce, you would be filing a regular divorce. DivorceFile.ca only assists with simple divorces.

Simple Sole/Uncontested Divorce in Ontario

When neither spouse is opposed to the divorce, there are two basic ways to proceed. The first is by way of a simple ‘sole divorce’ – often incorrectly referred to as an ‘uncontested’ divorce. In this case, one spouse files an Application with the court asking for a divorce. After the papers are filed with the court, your spouse is served with a copy of the papers. He or she then has 30 days (60 if served outside of Canada or the USA) to contest (challenge) the divorce or make his or her own claim for things like support, division of property, etc. If your spouse does not contest the divorce within the required time period, the divorce will proceed as ‘uncontested’ and should be finalized by the court several weeks later.

Joint Divorce in Ontario

The second way to proceed is by filing a ‘joint’ divorce. With this type of divorce, both spouses sign and swear the divorce papers. Neither spouse is suing the other for divorce – you are telling the court that you both want the divorce.

Choosing between filing a simple and joint divorce is often based on convenience – if both spouses can arrange to meet to sign the papers, a joint divorce can be a bit easier. In some cases, both spouses are willing to sign the joint papers, however it may be inconvenient because, for example, one spouse lives overseas. This does not, however, make a joint divorce impossible. It just takes a bit more coordination. Many couples want to do a joint divorce regardless of any logistical issues. Others choose to go the ‘sole/uncontested’ route simply because it is much more convenient for one of the spouses to take care of all of the required paperwork. The timing and cost is the same whether you do a simple joint divorce or a simple sole/uncontested divorce where both spouses are cooperative. The actual final divorce order is the same – there is only a slight difference in wording between a sole and joint divorce order.