Windsor Notary Services - Divorce Start

Joint Divorce

Step 1: Get some useful information

Residency: To get a divorce in Ontario, the law says at least one of you must have been resident in Ontario for at least one year.

Eligibility: You can start a divorce at any time, but it won't be finalized until you have both lived separate and apart for at least one year.

Court Fee: Filing a divorce in an Ontario court costs $632. This court fee will be invoiced for payment to the court once your divorce papers are ready to be filed.

Documents: Find or replace your Marriage Certificate (or foreign equivalent) and scan it into PDF format, ready for upload. You get an exception if it is non-Canadian and you can't find or replace it.

Workbook: If you need help getting organized, download and use "easy-peasy", our free, optional workbook, before you start.

Step 2: Calculate child support if you have kids

Ordinary Child Support: If you have one or more minor children, and one of you is responsible for them 60% of each month or more, the law says the other parent must pay child support.

Split Custody Child Support: In some cases, each parent has at least one child over 60% of the time. If so, both must calculate child support. Ultimately, the parent with the higher amount pays the difference between the amounts to the parent with the lower amount.

The Amount: The amount is decided by a government "Child Support Table", which was last updated in 2017.

The Calculation: In the screen below, scroll down to "Enter the following information" and use the calculator. Write down the amount it gives you. We will soon ask for it.

Step 3: Start