Decision-Making Responsibility in Ontario: A Complete Guide

What Is Decision-Making Responsibility?

Decision-making responsibility is the legal authority to make significant, long-term decisions about a child's upbringing — generally covering health care, education, religious or spiritual upbringing, and significant extracurricular activities. It is one of the two main building blocks of a modern parenting arrangement in Ontario, alongside parenting time.

It does not have to be held by only one parent, and it does not have to cover every category of decision the same way. It can be sole (held by one parent), joint (shared between both), or split (different categories divided between the parents). This guide walks through each option, how courts approach the question, and where to go if parents cannot agree.

Decision-Making Responsibility vs. Parenting Time

Decision-making responsibility and parenting time are related but legally distinct, and people often confuse the two. Decision-making responsibility is who has authority over major, long-term decisions — which school a child attends, or whether a child receives a particular medical treatment. Parenting time is the schedule — when a child is in each parent's care — and generally includes authority over routine, day-to-day decisions during that time, such as bedtime and meals, without consulting the other parent first.

A parent can have significant parenting time without decision-making responsibility, and vice versa — the two are decided separately, even though usually addressed in the same order or agreement. See Parenting Time for scheduling and day-to-day arrangements; this page focuses on decision-making. If you're new to these terms and want a single plain-language starting point covering both, see our Insights guide to how parenting time and decision-making responsibility are determined.

From "Custody" to "Decision-Making Responsibility": Why the Term Changed

Many people still say "custody," but it is no longer the legal term used in new Ontario or federal orders. Amendments to the federal Divorce Act came into force on March 1, 2021, replacing "custody" and "access" with parenting orders addressing decision-making responsibility and parenting time instead. Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act was amended around the same time to use matching terminology, so the language lines up whether a family falls under the federal Divorce Act (married spouses divorcing) or the provincial Act (other parents, including those never married).

The stated purpose was to move away from language framing arrangements as a "win" or "loss," toward language describing parents' actual responsibilities. The underlying legal questions — who decides what, and on what basis — work similarly to how they did under the old terms, but the labels and some surrounding rules changed.

What Decisions Are Covered — and What Isn't

Decision-making responsibility generally covers major decisions in a small number of recognized categories:

• Health: significant medical, dental, and mental-health decisions.
• Education: which school a child attends, and significant decisions about a child's educational needs.
• Culture, language, religion, and spirituality: a child's religious upbringing and cultural or linguistic heritage.
• Significant extracurricular activities: ongoing, significant commitments, as opposed to a one-off activity.

It generally does not extend to routine, day-to-day decisions — what a child eats for dinner, or minor choices during a parent's own parenting time. Those are usually left to whichever parent has the child in their care at the time. Where the line falls can still be a source of disagreement, which is why many parenting plans spell out examples in more detail.

Sole, Joint, and Split Decision-Making Responsibility

Decision-making responsibility can be structured in more than one way, and the right structure depends heavily on each family's circumstances and ability to communicate.

Sole Decision-Making Responsibility

One parent holds authority over all, or nearly all, recognized categories, generally without needing the other parent's agreement. This does not necessarily mean the other parent has no parenting time or involvement — it addresses who has final authority.

Joint Decision-Making Responsibility

Both parents share authority and are generally expected to consult and try to agree together. This works best where parents can communicate reasonably well, even if their relationship is otherwise difficult, since it depends on ongoing cooperation.

Split (or Divided) Decision-Making Responsibility

Responsibility is allocated by category — one parent decides education while the other decides health care, for example, with some categories perhaps remaining joint. This can suit families where each parent has particular knowledge in specific areas, or where a fully joint model has not worked. No arrangement is automatically "better" — what works depends on the family's circumstances and, if needed, what a court finds in the child's best interests.

How Courts Decide: The Best Interests of the Child

When parents cannot agree and a court decides, the governing test — under both the federal Divorce Act and Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act — is the best interests of the child. The court's primary consideration is the child's physical, emotional, and psychological safety, security, and well-being. Beyond that, courts generally weigh factors including:

• the child's needs, given their age and stage of development, including their need for stability;
• the strength of the child's relationship with each parent, siblings, grandparents, and other important people;
• each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent;
• the child's views, weighted by age and maturity, where they can be ascertained;
• the child's cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual heritage; and
• any history of family violence and its impact on the child.

These are not a rigid checklist — courts weigh them together in light of the family's circumstances. No parent is entitled to a particular outcome because of their role, gender, or past living arrangement; the focus is on what best serves the child involved.

Which Law Applies: Divorce Act or Children's Law Reform Act

Which law applies generally depends on the parents' marital situation. The federal Divorce Act applies to married spouses divorcing or divorced, addressing decision-making responsibility and parenting time within a broader parenting order. Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act applies more broadly, including to parents who were never married. Since the 2021 amendments, the two use closely aligned terminology and best-interests frameworks, so the practical experience is similar either way — though if you are unsure which applies to you, that is worth raising when seeking professional guidance.

Can Parents Just Agree Between Themselves?

Yes — most parents resolve decision-making responsibility by agreement rather than a contested court process, putting it in writing as a broader parenting agreement or a more detailed parenting plan. A written agreement is not the same as a court order, and the two can have different legal effects and enforcement options — worth understanding before relying on an agreement alone. Many parents have a court formalize their agreement as a consent order for added enforceability.

The Voice of the Child

A child's own views can be one factor a court considers, weighted by the child's age and maturity and how those views were expressed. A child is generally not asked to choose between parents — the goal is to understand their perspective as one piece of a broader picture, not to place the decision on the child's shoulders.

A child's views might be brought forward informally or through more structured processes, sometimes called voice-of-the-child reports, prepared by a qualified professional. See Voice of the Child for how this works.

Parenting Assessments

In some disputed cases, a court may order, or parents may agree to, a parenting assessment — sometimes still called a custody and access assessment. A qualified professional evaluates the family's circumstances and prepares a report with observations and, often, recommendations.

Assessments are not used in every case — generally only where independent professional input would help resolve a genuine, significant dispute. They take time and can involve a cost, so parents and courts weigh whether one is proportionate.

When Parents Disagree on a Major Decision

Disagreements over major decisions happen even in workable co-parenting relationships. Where an existing order already assigns responsibility to one parent, that parent generally has final say. Where responsibility is joint and parents genuinely cannot agree, options generally include:

• Continuing to discuss and try to reach a compromise directly;
• Using mediation or another dispute-resolution process;
• Asking a court to resolve that one specific issue, rather than reopening the entire arrangement; and
• In a genuine emergency, taking necessary immediate action and revisiting the decision with the other parent as soon as reasonably possible.

Courts generally prefer parents resolve disagreements without repeated litigation, but a specific-issue application remains an option when a decision is genuinely at an impasse.

Changing a Decision-Making Order Later

An arrangement made today does not have to be permanent. Family circumstances change — a child grows older, a parent relocates, or the arrangement stops working in practice. Generally, an existing order or agreement can be changed if there has been a meaningful change in circumstances, either by the parents agreeing to a new arrangement or by one asking a court to vary the order. See Changing or Enforcing an Order for a general overview.

A General Step-by-Step Pathway to Sorting Out Decision-Making Responsibility

This is a general outline. Your own path may look different depending on your family's circumstances.

1. Identify which law applies to your situation

   Generally the federal Divorce Act for divorcing spouses, or Ontario's Children's Law Reform Act for other parents.

2. Think through what each category of decision means for your family

   Health, education, religion, and significant extracurricular activities.

3. Try to reach an agreement together, directly or with help

   Through direct discussion, lawyer-assisted negotiation, or mediation.

4. Put the arrangement in writing

   As a parenting agreement or parenting plan describing the decision-making model.

5. Consider formalizing the agreement as a court order

   Some parents ask a court to incorporate their agreement into a consent order.

6. If you cannot agree, consider a court application

   For the full parenting order or, where possible, a narrower, specific issue.

7. Revisit the arrangement if circumstances change

   A significant change may justify updating the agreement or varying an order.

Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings About Decision-Making Responsibility

• Assuming "custody" and "decision-making responsibility" work identically
• Confusing decision-making responsibility with parenting time
• Assuming joint decision-making requires equal parenting time, or vice versa
• Making a major decision unilaterally under a joint arrangement without consulting first
• Treating a child's stated preference as the final word, rather than one factor among several
• Assuming a parenting assessment is required in every disputed case

Frequently Asked Questions