Toronto Child Custody Lawyers.
Compassionate, Strategic, Local
Our Toronto child custody lawyers at 55 University Avenue, five minutes from Toronto Family Court, provide clear guidance on decision-making responsibility, parenting time, relocation, and high-conflict custody matters. Your children’s wellbeing is at the centre of everything we do.
Book a Free Consultation →55 University Avenue, Toronto | 5 Minutes from Toronto Family Court | Decision-Making Responsibility | Parenting Time | Relocation | Free Consultations
What Changed in 2021 | and What Hasn’t
The 2021 amendments to the federal Divorce Act changed the language of child custody in Canada, replacing “custody” and “access” with “decision-making responsibility” and “parenting time.” The underlying legal concepts are substantially similar, but the shift reflects an important policy change: moving away from a win-lose framing toward one that emphasizes both parents’ ongoing responsibilities to their children.
What has not changed is the central legal test: the best interests of the child. Toronto courts apply this standard to every parenting decision. There is no presumption in favour of either parent, no automatic preference for mothers over fathers, and no rule that 50/50 parenting time is the default. Every case turns on its specific facts: the child’s relationships, the history of caregiving, each parent’s ability to support the child’s relationship with the other parent, the child’s own views, and, under the 2021 amendments, any history of family violence.
Our Toronto child custody lawyers understand the courts where these matters are heard, Ontario Superior Court at 361 University Avenue and Ontario Court of Justice at 60 Queen Street West, both a short walk from our office, and bring genuine local court knowledge to every file. We know how Toronto judges approach custody disputes, what effective advocacy in Toronto family court looks like, and how to achieve outcomes that truly serve our clients’ children.
Whether your matter is a cooperative parenting plan negotiation or a high-conflict litigation with urgent motions and OCL involvement, our Toronto custody lawyers have the expertise and the local court presence to help you navigate it.
Where Toronto Child Custody Cases Are Heard
Our office at 55 University Avenue is within minutes of both Toronto family courts. We appear in both courts regularly and understand the specific practice culture and judicial preferences at each.
Ontario Superior Court, Toronto
Handles all family matters involving divorce, including parenting orders, property division, and complex matters where both divorce and custody are in issue. This is where contested custody matters are heard when connected to a divorce proceeding. High-conflict custody trials and relocation applications typically proceed here.
Ontario Court of Justice, Toronto
Handles custody, parenting time, and child support matters without divorce, including applications by unmarried parents, applications where the parties are separated but not divorcing, and urgent motions. Many first family court appearances for separated couples in Toronto happen here, before the matter escalates (if it does) to Superior Court.
Your Legal Team
Child Custody & Parenting Services in Toronto
We represent Toronto parents in every type of parenting matter, from negotiating a parenting plan to bringing urgent motions and appearing at case conferences, settlement conferences, and trials in Toronto family court.
Decision-Making Responsibility
Decision-making responsibility is the authority to make major decisions about a child’s life: which school they attend, what medical treatment they receive, their religious upbringing, and significant extracurricular activities. These are not day-to-day parenting decisions, each parent makes those independently during their own parenting time, but the major decisions that shape a child’s life.
Joint decision-making responsibility means both parents share this authority and must consult each other before making major decisions. It is the most common arrangement where parents are capable of communication. Sole decision-making responsibility is awarded when joint decision-making is unworkable, typically in high-conflict cases or where there is a history of family violence that makes ongoing parental cooperation unsafe or impossible.
- Joint decision-making agreement drafting
- Sole decision-making applications
- Decision-making disputes (school, medical, religion)
- Urgent motions where a parent is excluding the other
- Parenting coordination referrals
- High-conflict decision-making cases
Parenting Time
Parenting time is the time each parent physically spends with the child. There is no legal presumption of 50/50 parenting time in Ontario. The arrangement that best serves the specific child, based on their age, needs, relationships, and all other relevant circumstances, is what Toronto courts will order.
Common arrangements range from week-on/week-off 50/50 schedules to primary/secondary arrangements where a child lives primarily with one parent. The right schedule depends on many factors: the child’s age and developmental needs, each parent’s work schedule and availability, proximity of each parent’s home to the child’s school, and the degree of parental cooperation. Our lawyers help parents negotiate schedules that genuinely serve their children and, where agreement is not possible, advocate effectively in court.
- Parenting plan negotiation and drafting
- Parenting time court applications
- Holiday and vacation schedule drafting
- Supervised parenting time applications
- Parenting time enforcement motions
- Variation of parenting orders as children age
- OCL Voice of the Child report requests
- Section 30 and section 82 assessment requests
Relocation Applications
Under the 2021 Divorce Act amendments, a parent who wants to relocate with a child must give the other parent at least 60 days written notice, including the new address, proposed move date, and a proposed revised parenting schedule. If the other parent objects, a court order is required before the move can take place.
Relocation cases are complex and high-stakes. The legal test is the best interests of the child, including the reason for the move, the impact on the child, and whether meaningful parenting time with the other parent remains possible after the relocation. Moving without proper notice or court approval can result in an immediate order to return the child, and may affect the relocating parent’s credibility in subsequent proceedings.
- Drafting and serving relocation notices
- Objecting to a relocation notice
- Relocation court applications
- Urgent motions to prevent unauthorized relocation
- Return orders after unauthorized moves
- International relocation and Hague Convention matters
High-Conflict Custody
High-conflict custody cases, where parents are unable to communicate, where parental alienation allegations are made, where there is a history of family violence, or where multiple urgent motions have been brought, require lawyers with specific expertise and the ability to maintain perspective through prolonged litigation. Our Toronto custody lawyers have deep experience in high-conflict matters at every level of the Ontario court system.
High-conflict cases often involve multiple court appearances over years, OCL involvement, expert assessments, and ultimately a full contested trial. We bring strategic thinking to every high-conflict file and always keep the central question in focus: what outcome serves this child’s best interests? That focus, rather than conflict for its own sake, is what produces the best outcomes for our clients and their children.
- High-conflict case management
- Urgent motion preparation and representation
- OCL involvement coordination
- Parental alienation cases
- Family violence safety planning and protection orders
- Section 30 and 82 assessment requests
- Case conferences and settlement conferences
- Trial preparation and full trial representation
Toronto Child Custody FAQs
Toronto Child Custody, Free Initial Consultation
Our Toronto child custody lawyers at 55 University Avenue offer free initial consultations for all parenting matters. We are steps from Ontario Superior Court and Ontario Court of Justice. Evenings and weekends available by appointment.
Lexaltico LLP, Child Custody Toronto
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
Monday – Friday: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Evenings & weekends by appointment
Ontario Superior Court (5 min)
Ontario Court of Justice (8 min)
