Family lawyer in Toronto: which court, which office, and what is local

A Toronto family case can involve two different courts. Divorce and the division of property belong to the Superior Court of Justice at 361 University Avenue, while parenting and support claims can also be brought in the Ontario Court of Justice at 47 Sheppard Avenue East or 311 Jarvis Street, depending on your provincial electoral district. Sarbazevatan Law is a family law practice at Suite 1901, 5000 Yonge Street, Toronto, with consultations in English, Persian (Farsi) and French.

Toronto works differently from the suburbs around it. York Region families, for example, go to one Family Court in Newmarket that hears every kind of family case, while Toronto splits family work between two courts and three buildings. This page gathers what is specific to Toronto: the courthouses, the services attached to them, the steps of a Toronto case, and the questions Toronto families, including many Persian-speaking families, bring to us. For an overview of our practice areas, see our services.

How does a Toronto family case move, step by step?

The Ontario Court of Justice split took effect on September 1, 2024, under a practice direction the court describes as creating temporary boundaries. You can look up your provincial electoral district by postal code on the Elections Ontario website. Our guide to which Toronto family court handles your case lists every riding and explains how to choose between the two courts when both could hear you. The full sequence after filing is set out in what happens after you start a family case in Toronto.

Which Toronto courthouse will your case be in?

For what to expect inside each Ontario Court of Justice building, read our page on the North York family court at 47 Sheppard Avenue East. The downtown courthouse has its own page: the family court at 311 Jarvis Street. Do not go to 393 University Avenue for a family filing: that building is the Superior Court's civil courthouse, although the Office of the Children's Lawyer and the court mediation service have offices there.

What help is available at Toronto's family courts?

Each Toronto family courthouse has its own Family Law Information Centre and its own mediation contact. On-site mediation is free on the day your case is in court; off-site mediation is offered on a sliding scale based on income, and providers may reduce or waive the fee.

All three mediation services are run by mediate393 inc. from 393 University Avenue, Suite 2000 (416-593-5393). The information centres explain the court process and refer people to mediation and community services. Legal Aid Ontario has family duty counsel on the 2nd floor at 47 Sheppard Avenue East (416-696-2992) and in Room 154 at 311 Jarvis Street (416-646-1278).

• Dispute Resolution Officers. Toronto is one of the places where experienced family lawyers act as Dispute Resolution Officers at some early Superior Court case conferences, to narrow the issues. At 361 University Avenue these are scheduled through the family trial office ([email protected]).
• Office of the Children's Lawyer. Its office is at 393 University Avenue, 14th Floor. Read what the Office of the Children's Lawyer does in a parenting case.
• Supervised access. Toronto's Ontario-funded centre is Access for Parents and Children in Ontario, 100 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 504. See how supervised parenting time works in Toronto.
• Support for victims of domestic violence. The province's Family Court Support Worker program helps victims prepare for family court. The 24/7 Victim Support Line in the Greater Toronto Area is 416-314-2447.

What changes the answer for your family?

• What you are asking for. Only the Superior Court can grant a divorce or divide property; the Family Law Act says the Ontario Court of Justice is not a "court" for those parts of the Act.
• Where you live in Toronto. Your provincial electoral district decides between 47 Sheppard and 311 Jarvis for a new Ontario Court of Justice case.
• Where the children live. A parenting case starts in the municipality where the child habitually lives (Family Law Rules, r. 5). If the children live in Richmond Hill, the case belongs in Newmarket, not Toronto.
• An older case. Ontario Court of Justice cases started before September 1, 2024, and motions to change tied to them, can continue at 47 Sheppard.
• An emergency. If a child may be removed from Ontario, or someone's safety is at risk, a case may start anywhere for an urgent motion and is then transferred (r. 5).
• Whether you were married. Equalization of property is for married spouses; unmarried partners have support rights but bring property claims differently. See common-law spousal support in Ontario.

A worked example

For example, imagine a couple who married in Tehran, moved to Willowdale, and separated this year. The wife wants a divorce, a share of the family's property in Toronto and in Iran, payment of her mahr and child support for their daughter. Because she wants a divorce and property division, her case goes to the Superior Court at 361 University Avenue, where all her claims can go into one application. Her Iranian marriage certificate must be translated by a certified translator before it is filed with a divorce application.

If she only needed child support for now, she could instead start at the Ontario Court of Justice, and because Willowdale is assigned to 47 Sheppard, that is where the case would go, with a court date set at filing. Either way, both spouses attend the Mandatory Information Program within 45 days. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any outcome. Her property questions are covered in whether property in Iran counts in an Ontario equalization.

What mistakes do Toronto families make?

1. Filing a divorce or property claim at 47 Sheppard or 311 Jarvis. The Ontario Court of Justice cannot hear it.
2. Going to the wrong Ontario Court of Justice building without checking the riding.
3. Going to 393 University Avenue to file a family case. It is the civil courthouse.
4. Filing an untranslated Iranian marriage certificate with a divorce application.
5. Skipping the Mandatory Information Program, which most parties must attend within 45 days.
6. Assuming a Farsi court interpreter is automatically free in a family case. It is not, as the questions below explain.

What to do this week

1. List what you need decided: divorce, property, parenting, child or spousal support, a mahr claim.
2. Look up your provincial electoral district by postal code.
3. Find your marriage certificate and, if it is in Persian, arrange a certified translation.
4. Start collecting income documents and property records, including for anything in Iran.
5. Note where the children have lived since separation; it can decide the court.
6. Book a consultation in the language you are most comfortable with.

Frequently asked questions

Will a Toronto family court give me a Farsi interpreter for free?

In family court, Ontario provides French interpretation in all matters and interpretation in any language if you qualify for a fee waiver or if the court orders it. Otherwise you may need to arrange your own interpreter, so raise it early. Our guide to Farsi interpreters in Ontario courts compares family and criminal cases.

Is there a fee to file in Toronto?

There is no fee to file documents at the Ontario Court of Justice. At the Superior Court you may have to pay a court fee for some steps, and you can apply for a fee waiver at no cost if you cannot afford it. The amounts, and the claims that are fee-free, are set out in our guide to what a family case costs in Toronto.

Can my case be moved from 47 Sheppard to 311 Jarvis if I move?

The practice direction assigns new cases by district and keeps older cases and their follow-up motions at 47 Sheppard. If your circumstances change, ask your lawyer or the court office before filing anything new.

Where do I get a divorce certificate in Toronto?

From the court location where the divorce case started; for current Toronto Superior Court family cases, that is 361 University Avenue. Our page on getting a divorce certificate in Ontario explains the timing.

Is free legal help available at the courthouse?

Legal Aid Ontario family duty counsel work at 47 Sheppard and 311 Jarvis, and the Family Law Information Centres give information and referrals.

What if my spouse still lives in Iran?

You can still start a case in Toronto if the court has jurisdiction; for a divorce, one spouse must have been habitually resident in Ontario for at least a year. A respondent served outside Canada or the United States has 60 days, rather than 30, to answer (Family Law Rules, r. 10), so build that time into your plans.

Can we avoid court altogether?

Yes, many families settle by agreement, mediation or arbitration. Read whether a family arbitration award is binding in Ontario before choosing that route.

Guides for Toronto families

If you have just separated, begin with our first-week separation checklist. These guides answer the questions we hear most:

• Deadlines: the deadlines in an Ontario family case
• Safety: how family violence affects parenting decisions
• Travel: whether a parent can take a child abroad without consent
• Older children: whether child support stops at 18
• Disclosure: which financial statement to file
• The home: whether a spouse can sell or mortgage the family home
• A parent abroad: child support when a parent lives outside Canada
• Mahr: whether a mahr (mehrieh) is enforceable
• Marriage in Iran: divorcing in Ontario after marrying in Iran
• Faith: how a religious divorce fits with an Ontario divorce
• An order from Iran: whether a custody order from Iran counts in Ontario
• Superior Court: what to expect at 361 University Avenue
• Peel Region: what to expect at the Brampton courthouse

For families with ties to Iran, our page on what a Persian-speaking family lawyer in Toronto can do brings the Iranian-Canadian questions together in one place.

Live in Richmond Hill, Thornhill, Vaughan or Markham? Then your family court is not in Toronto: read how York Region family cases work.

Sourena Sarbazevatan was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2015 and practises family, criminal and civil law from Suite 1901, 5000 Yonge Street, Toronto. Consultations are available in English, Persian (Farsi) and French, so you can explain your situation in the language you are most comfortable with. Call +1 (416) 628-2041 or send a message through our contact page.