Contested Divorce in Ontario

What Makes a Divorce "Contested"?

Most Ontario divorce applications start out the same way: one spouse, or both spouses together, ask the court for a divorce. What turns that application into a contested divorce is generally one of three things happening after it is filed and served: your spouse disagrees with the divorce itself, your spouse disagrees with a related issue such as parenting, support, or property, or your spouse does not file a response within the time allowed. Any one of these is generally enough to move the application out of the simple, uncontested track and into Ontario's regular family court process.

It is worth separating two ideas that often get blurred together: contesting the divorce itself (the legal end of the marriage) and contesting one or more related issues, such as who the children live with, how much support is paid, or how property is divided. In practice, most contested Ontario divorces are really disputes about these related issues, not about whether the marriage should end. That distinction is discussed further below.

Contested vs. Simple and Joint Divorce

Ontario divorce applications are generally grouped into three categories, and this page focuses specifically on the third.

A simple (uncontested) divorce is filed by one spouse and asks only for the divorce itself, usually because parenting, support, and property issues are already resolved or do not apply. A joint divorce is similar, but both spouses apply together, which means there is no one left to "contest" it. A contested divorce is different in kind: it involves an actual disagreement, either about the divorce or about a related issue, and that disagreement has to be worked through before the court will finalize anything. For a broader overview of divorce in Ontario generally, including eligibility, grounds, and timelines, see our complete guide to divorce in Ontario.

The practical difference is significant. A simple or joint divorce can sometimes be decided by a judge on the paper record alone, without either spouse attending court. A contested divorce cannot generally be resolved that quickly, because the court needs a process for the disputed issues to be identified, narrowed, and ultimately decided or settled.

What Happens After Your Spouse Disputes the Divorce or Files No Response

Once a divorce application is served, the other spouse generally has a set period of time to file a response, typically using a form known as an Answer, if they want to dispute anything in it. What happens next depends on what they do.

If your spouse files an Answer disputing the divorce or a related issue, the case generally becomes contested and moves into the regular family court process described below. If your spouse does not file anything within the time allowed, the case does not automatically end in your favour — there are still procedural steps involved in asking the court to move the application forward without their participation, discussed further in If Your Spouse Won't Participate At All. Either way, once a dispute is on the table, the straightforward, paper-based track available for simple and joint divorces is generally no longer available.

The General Family Court Process for a Contested Divorce

Once a divorce becomes contested, it generally proceeds much like any other family court case, rather than through a simplified divorce-only process. That means the same general stages that apply to a contested parenting, support, or property case also apply here: an early conference to identify what is actually in dispute, further conferences aimed at narrowing or resolving those issues, the possibility of motions if urgent or specific matters need a decision along the way, and, if nothing is resolved earlier, a trial where a judge makes the final decisions.

Because this is essentially the same family court process used for any contested family law issue, rather than something unique to divorce, we cover it in detail separately. See our guide to getting started in family court for a full walkthrough of how conferences, motions, and trials generally work, and roughly how a contested case moves from filing through to a final resolution.

One practical consequence worth flagging here: because a contested divorce is folded into the regular family court process, it generally takes considerably longer, and involves more steps, than a simple or joint divorce. There is no fixed timeline that applies to every case, since it depends heavily on how many issues are disputed, how cooperative both sides are, and how busy the specific courthouse is.

Case Conferences

A case conference is generally the first real appearance before a judge in a contested case. Its purpose is to help identify the issues that are genuinely in dispute, explore whether some issues can be narrowed or resolved early, and plan the remaining steps in the case. A judge does not usually make final, binding decisions at a case conference, though they may offer informal guidance on how similar issues tend to be viewed by the court.

Settlement Conferences

If a case is not resolved after one or more case conferences, it is generally scheduled for a settlement conference before any trial date is set. A settlement conference is a more structured, confidential discussion, often involving an offer to settle, where a judge can give a candid view of how the issues might be decided at trial. Because these discussions are confidential, they generally cannot be used against either spouse later if the case does not settle. Many contested matters resolve at or shortly after this stage.

Can the Divorce Itself Really Be Contested, or Just Other Issues?

This is one of the most misunderstood parts of a contested divorce. Under the federal Divorce Act, a court will generally grant a divorce once it is satisfied that the legal grounds are met, most commonly one year of living separate and apart, along with the other requirements such as reasonable arrangements for any children. In practice, courts rarely refuse to grant a divorce outright once those grounds are established, even where a spouse objects to the marriage ending.

What can genuinely be contested, and what tends to drive the length and cost of these cases, are the related issues that often accompany a divorce: parenting arrangements such as parenting time and decision-making responsibility, child support and spousal support, and division of property, including the matrimonial home. These issues can be genuinely, substantively disputed, and it is disagreement over them, more than disagreement over the divorce itself, that typically sends a case through the fuller family court process described above.

In other words, a "contested divorce" is often better understood as a divorce that is bundled together with one or more contested related issues, rather than a fight over whether the marriage should legally end at all.

Settling Before Trial: Mediation and Negotiation

A case becoming contested does not mean a trial is inevitable, or even likely. Mediation and direct negotiation between spouses, or between their lawyers, remain available at any stage of a contested case, including after conferences have already begun. Many family court locations in Ontario also offer publicly funded mediation services, and some mediation may be available at no cost for a limited number of hours where a court case is already underway, though availability and details can vary by location and should be confirmed directly with the relevant court.

It is well established in Ontario family law practice that a large share of contested cases settle before ever reaching trial — through negotiation, mediation, or during the case and settlement conference process itself. Judges and court procedures are generally structured to encourage this, since a settlement conference in particular exists largely to help spouses find common ground before committing to the time, expense, and uncertainty of a trial. If you are exploring resolving issues by agreement rather than through a contested court process, see our guide to separation agreements.

What If Your Spouse Won't Participate At All?

Sometimes a spouse does not respond to a divorce application at all, whether because they cannot be located, are avoiding the process, or simply choose not to engage. This does not put the case on hold indefinitely, but it also does not resolve automatically in the other spouse's favour. Generally, the applicant needs to show the court that proper service was completed and the response period has passed, then follow specific procedural steps to ask the court to proceed and decide the outstanding issues without the other spouse's participation.

Where a spouse is genuinely difficult to locate, Ontario courts have procedures such as alternative or substituted service, though these generally require the applicant to first show the court what efforts were made to find and serve the other spouse. Our guide to getting started in family court covers service and response requirements in more general detail.

Common Mistakes in a Contested Divorce

• Treating every disagreement as a fight over the divorce itself, rather than focusing on the related issue actually in dispute
• Assuming a trial is the only way to resolve a contested case, and ruling out mediation or negotiation too early
• Missing deadlines to file an Answer or respond to a step in the process
• Showing up to a case or settlement conference without the required documents or financial disclosure
• Underestimating how much longer and more expensive a contested process generally is compared to an uncontested one
• Not getting advice before deciding whether to dispute an issue at all, versus resolving it by agreement

Frequently Asked Questions