Motions in Ontario Family Court

What Is a Motion?

A motion is a request asking a judge to decide one specific issue, or make one specific order, before the family court case as a whole is finally resolved. It is not a separate lawsuit — it is a step inside an existing case, and it does not replace the trial or final hearing that eventually decides the outstanding issues between the parties.

Most motions ask for a temporary (sometimes called "interim") order that will apply while the case continues, rather than a final decision. Others ask the court to resolve a procedural problem, such as a dispute over disclosure, so the case can keep moving. If you're new to how a family court case is generally structured before a motion comes up, see getting started with family court.

Common Reasons for a Motion

A motion can be brought for many kinds of issues, but a few reasons come up especially often.

Temporary Parenting Arrangements

Where parents disagree about where a child should live, or how parenting time and decision-making should work, either parent may ask the court to set a temporary arrangement to apply while the rest of the case is resolved. This can matter a great deal in practice, since a temporary arrangement sometimes influences how a case eventually settles.

Temporary Support

A spouse or parent who needs child support or spousal support before the case concludes can generally ask for a temporary support order, based on the financial information available at the time of the motion, rather than waiting for the case to fully resolve.

Procedural Orders

Motions are also used for procedural issues that come up along the way — for example, asking the court to compel outstanding financial disclosure, resolve a dispute about how documents were served, or address other steps needed to keep the case moving toward resolution.

Motions on Notice

The normal way to bring a motion is "on notice" to the other party. This generally means the party bringing the motion (the "moving party") prepares motion materials — typically a notice of motion and a supporting affidavit — and serves them on the other party with enough advance notice for that party to prepare and file responding materials before the motion is heard.

Giving notice reflects a basic fairness principle that runs through Ontario's family court process: generally, a court should not decide an issue affecting someone without giving that person a genuine chance to be heard first. A motion on notice can still be dealt with relatively quickly compared to a trial, but it follows a more structured timeline than an urgent motion, to allow both sides to be properly prepared.

Urgent Motions Without Notice

In limited circumstances, a party can ask the court to hear a motion without first giving notice to the other side — sometimes called an urgent motion, an emergency motion, or a motion "without notice" or "ex parte." Courts generally treat this as an exceptional procedure, reserved for genuine urgency, rather than a routine option.

Generally, a motion without notice may be considered where notice is not reasonably possible or would defeat the purpose of the motion — for example, where there is an immediate risk to the health or safety of a party or a child, or an immediate risk that a child will be removed from Ontario, and waiting to give notice would likely cause serious harm. Genuine inability to locate the other party after real efforts to do so can also be relevant.

Because the other party has not had a chance to respond, an order made without notice is generally treated as provisional. A judge who grants this kind of order will typically expect the moving party to serve the other party with the motion materials and the order promptly afterward, and it is common for the court to require a further hearing within a short period so the other party can be heard before the arrangement continues. Anyone considering this route should not assume it is available simply because a matter feels pressing — confirm current requirements with the court or a qualified professional before proceeding, and see Urgent Help & Safety if there is a risk to anyone's immediate safety.

The Case Conference Requirement

Ontario's Family Law Rules generally connect motions to an earlier step in the case: the case conference. In general, a motion dealing with the substantive issues in a case is not supposed to be brought until a case conference addressing those issues has taken place. The idea is to give the parties and a judge a chance to identify what is genuinely in dispute, and possibly narrow or resolve it, before either side asks the court to decide anything formally. For a fuller look at that step, see case conferences.

This general requirement is not absolute. Courts recognize exceptions, including for situations of urgency or hardship, certain motions made on consent or dealing with limited procedural matters, and other circumstances where requiring a case conference first would not serve the interests of justice. Whether a particular motion fits an exception depends on the specific facts and the court's own practices, so this is an area where confirming current requirements — with the court, a Family Law Information Centre, or a qualified professional — is especially worthwhile before filing.

What a Judge Considers on a Motion

Because a motion is generally decided on a more limited record than a trial — typically written affidavit evidence rather than live testimony — a judge is working with less complete information than they would have at a full hearing. With that in mind, a judge deciding a motion will generally look at the evidence each side has filed, the specific order being requested, and whether granting it makes sense as a temporary measure pending a fuller resolution of the case.

In motions involving children, the child's best interests remain central, just as they would at trial, even though the judge is only being asked to set an arrangement for the interim. In motions about support or procedural issues, a judge will generally look at whether the request is reasonably supported by the evidence available at that stage, and whether it is genuinely necessary to decide the issue now rather than waiting for the case to be otherwise resolved.

Temporary Orders vs. Final Orders

A key thing to understand about a motion is what its outcome actually is: a temporary (interim) order, not a final one. A temporary order generally applies only while the case continues, and is superseded once the case is resolved — through a settlement, a trial, or another final order.

Because a temporary order is generally made on a more limited record, courts do not treat it as deciding the case; it is meant to hold things reasonably steady in the meantime, not to prejudge the eventual outcome. That said, some temporary arrangements — particularly around parenting — can carry practical weight later, simply because an arrangement that has been working for a while can become a relevant factor in how the case ultimately settles. For more on how a case concludes and how orders can later be changed or enforced, see court orders.

Preparing for a Motion

Whether you are bringing a motion or responding to one, a few general points are worth keeping in mind.

• Motions still follow the Family Law Rules for forms, service, and timing — confirm current requirements and deadlines with the court before filing.
• Affidavit evidence generally needs to be specific and relevant to the order being asked for, not simply a general account of the relationship.
• If your case has not yet had a case conference on the issues involved, confirm whether that requirement, or an exception to it, applies to your situation before filing.
• Responding promptly and completely to a motion you've been served with is important — not responding does not make the issue disappear, and the court may decide the motion without your input.
• If safety is a concern, look at options and resources under Urgent Help & Safety alongside any motion you're considering.

If you have not yet started your case or are unsure which stage you're at, see starting a family court case and settlement conferences for how motions generally fit alongside the rest of the process.

Frequently Asked Questions