There is a single ground for divorce, called "breakdown of marriage", which must be established by showing one or more of only three conditions:
(1) The spouses were living separate and apart for at least one year immediately preceding the determination of the divorce proceeding and were living separate and apart at the commencement of the proceeding.
(2) The other spouse has committed adultery
(3) The other spouse has been guilty of cruelty.

2. How is property divided on marriage breakdown?

When a marriage breaks down, the property must be divided between the spouses. The family law act requires that each spouse prepare a list of all assets and liabilities. The act provides that the value of all property gathered during the marriage partnership is to be shared equally between the spouses on marriage breakdown. Often the most valuable assets are the matrimonial home and any pensions. When the value of all your assets and liabilities and all your spouse's assets and liabilities have been determined, a spouse then subtracts the value of the property that he or she brought into the marriage to determine the "equalization amount", the value that remains. The spouses' "equalization amounts" are compared to determine a fair division of the assets of the marriage. Normally the main assets are the house and the pension. An improper valuation of the pension can end up changing the "equalization amount" and changing the division of assets by thousands of dollars.

3. What is custody and how does the court decide custody?

When the parents are together, both parents have custody of the children; neither has more authority than the other. Custody becomes an issue when one parent wants to remove custody of the child from the other parent, usually upon separation. Custody essentially means the authority to make the major decisions in how a child is raised and cared for. This includes where and who the child will live with, the child's education, and the child's religion. Under both the divorce act and the Ontario children's law reform act, either parent may apply to the court for an order respecting custody of, or access to the children. The court will decide custody according to what is in the "best interests of the child". If the issue of custody is placed before the court, custody will be decided according to what is in the "best interests of the child." this is a very broad standard that requires the court to look at each parent's ability and willingness to care for the child. The court will consider the love, affection and emotional ties between the children and each parent. Other factors such as the parenting stability and experience are also considered. In most cases, the parent who has custody of the children during the separation is more likely to get permanent custody of the children. The court rarely disrupts the children's home environment if they have settled into a steady and stable routine with one parent.

4. Who can get spousal support?

In matrimonial cases a court will order the payment of spousal support with a view to allowing each of the separating spouses to maintain the lifestyle they enjoyed prior to the break-up of the relationship. The objectives of a spousal support order are: firstly, to compensate for any economic disadvantages to a spouse arising from the marriage; secondly to divide the financial burden of the child care roles; thirdly, to relieve any economic hardship arising from the breakdown of the relationship, and; fourthly, to help the spouses obtain economic independence from each other. Either the husband or the wife can be forced to pay spousal support, even in common-law circumstances. Although the relationship breaks down, the spousal obligation to provide financial support continues in law.

5. Do common law spouses have the same rights as married spouses upon separation?

A couple is considered common-law after living together for more than three years or after having children together. On separation each of the common-law spouses have the right to claim spousal support, custody of the children, child support and may even adopt children. Common-law spouses do not have the protection of the family law act with respect to division of assets of the relationship, but canclaim unjust enrichment to allow a division of those assets.

6. Where do you bring a divorce action?

You should bring your action for divorce where you have been ordinary resident for one year or more. A proceeding for divorce is taken in the superior court of justice or the unified family court.

7. How does the dependent spouse survive pending the year separation?

In most cases, a person seeking support will want to obtain interim support pending trial in order to survive. A motion for interim support can be brought forward, where the court can make a judgment whether interim support is needed and how much support is needed.

8. Can a final order for support be varied?

Normally the parties cannot change contracts and court orders. Dealing with children, a separation agreement or custody and access order of a court is never final and is always subject to review. Where there has been a material change in circumstances that was not foreseeable at the time of the original agreement or order, the court may make changes. There is a heavy onus on the party requesting the change to show how the circumstances have changed to make the original order or agreement unworkable. Any change in custody and access arrangements will be made in the best interests of the child.

9. How are pensions dealt with?

The process of division of assets when a marriage or a common-law relationship breaks down can be very complicated. The value of the pension that accumulated over the period of the marriage should be divided equally between the spouses. When the value of the pension is calculated, the value assigned varies with respect to the date of retirement. You may be planning early retirement. You may be relying on government pensions to earn enough money in your old age. You may be involved in dangerous work where you might not make it to your expected retirement age. Many court cases have established that it should be assumed the pension member would retire at the earliest age possible. Also, remember that a high percentage of people retire early. You should always assume the earliest date of unreduced pension in vaulting your spouse's pension, and leave it to them to prove that they will not be able to retire early. There are many factors that can contribute to the date of retirement. You should have a lawyer look over all the information possible that you have in connection with the pension to assign a fair value to that pension.

10. How is the matrimonial home dealt with?

Under Ontario family law a matrimonial home is a property in which a person has an interest, and that was ordinarily occupied by the person and his or her spouse as their family residence at the time of their separation. This asset does get special treatment. The matrimonial home in Ontario qualifies for special treatment in two ways. Firstly, regardless as to whose name it is on the deed, both spouses have equal rights to possession of the matrimonial home. No one can "throw out" the other spouse because of the ownership of the house. Secondly, if a home is a matrimonial home at the date of separation and was the same home lived in at the date of marriage, then the owner cannot deduct its value when calculating his or her net family property. It's separation date value is included as an asset, but without any corresponding deduction.

11. If you received an inheritance during your marriage how is it divided?

The value of property owned on the date of separation, other than the matrimonial home, that was acquired by gift or inheritance from a third person after the date of marriage is excluded from a division of matrimonial property. If you received an inheritance during your marriage, and that inheritance is still intact or is traceable, you do not have to divide that inheritance upon marriage breakdown.

12. How do spouses know the other spouse's financial situation in dividing matrimonial assets?

In an action for divorce or an action for support, when the action is commenced, the applicant must file a financial statement and a notice to file a financial statement. Those documents are served on the responding party. The responding party must file a financial statement shortly thereafter or they lose their rights to defend the action. The financial statements are sworn documents setting out the financial position of each of the parties.

13. Does conduct of the parts affect the obligation to provide support?

The legislature has made an attempt to separate the issues of support from conduct. The obligation to provide support exists without regard to conduct, but the amount of support may be affected by a course of conduct that is so unconscionable as to constitute an obvious and gross repudiation of the relationship.

14. How is child support calculated?

Child support is calculated by using the federal child support guidelines based on the income of the paying spouse. In most cases the income used to calculate child support is the income stated in the past years' income tax return. Where that amount would be unfair, the court has the ability to determine a different income by looking at the pattern of income over the past three years. In certain circumstances a court may assign a higher annual income to the paying spouse where it appears that the income has been intentionally lowered. Despite the fact that the determination of income should be one of the most straightforward areas of matrimonial law, it can be tricky. One should obtain legal advice where the payment of child support is in question

15. What is a legal separation?

You must be legally separated from your spouse for one year to qualify for a divorce. What makes a legal separation? A legal separation can occur when only one of the spouses wants to end the marriage by living separate and apart. The separation need not be in terms of place of residence, and may exist solely in the partner's attitudes toward each other. Examples of legal separation are no communication between the spouses, eating separate meals, not sharing social activities, or occupying separate bedrooms. The most important factor that defines a legal separation is a spouse's intention to live separate lives. Again, the circumstances of separation must last for a full year to qualify for divorce. A bank or other institution will require a written separation agreement to validate the legality of the separation.

16. What is joint custody?

When there is joint custody, both parents have the legal right to have care and control of the children. It is generally felt that it is in the best interests of most children to have as much stress-free contact as possible with each of the parents. Because joint custody requires a lot of co-operation by both parents, there may be hesitancy on the part of the court in making an order if there is significant friction between the parents. Often, a court may set out the primary residence of the children or name one parent as having primary care and control of the children while the other parent continues to have joint decision making power over major decisions in the children's lives.