Ontario
3 lawyers whose firms cover family work in London. Each lawyer was checked on their provincial law society's public directory before being listed — check again before you hire, as people move firms. Browsing Lawvoo is free.
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Vera Dokter · Partner, Real Estate · Family · London
One London Place, 255 Queens Avenue, 11th Floor, London, ON N6A 5R8
Partner whose practice covers residential, commercial and builder real estate, corporate law, and wills and estates. She joined the firm in 2024 after building her own practice in London, and works in English and Portuguese. The firm also covers family law, employment law and personal injury.
Elena Ashford · Lawyer, Immigration Law · Family · London
275 Dundas Street, Unit 1, London, ON N6B 3L1
Leads the firm's immigration law group and practises only immigration law, including permanent residence, work permits, study permits and visitor visas for families and individuals. The firm also covers family law, personal injury, real estate purchases and sales, and wills and estates.
Matthew J. Villeneuve · Managing Partner, Family Law · Family · London
140 Fullarton Street, Suite 1800, London, ON N6A 5P2
Managing partner of the firm since 2023, practising family law: separation and divorce, property division, child and spousal support, parenting, adoption, and marriage and cohabitation contracts, through negotiation, mediation and court. The firm also covers employment law, real estate, wills and estates, and personal injury.
Divorce and separation, parenting time and decision-making, child and spousal support, and dividing property. Divorce follows the federal Divorce Act; property division and most other family rights come from Ontario's Family Law Act.
Divorce is federal law, so the rule is the same across Canada: the only ground is marriage breakdown, usually shown by living apart for one year or more. You or your spouse must have lived in Ontario for a full year before applying.
Married spouses share the value of what they built up during the marriage. Each spouse's 'net family property' is worked out, and the one with more pays the other half the difference — an equalization payment. The family home gets special treatment: its full value is shared even if one spouse owned it before the marriage. You must claim within six years of separating or two years of the divorce, whichever comes first.
Not for property. Common-law couples in Ontario are not legally required to split property acquired while they lived together — it generally stays with whoever bought it — unless they have a cohabitation agreement. Common-law partners may still be able to claim support, and both parents owe child support whatever their relationship was.
London has a Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice at the London Courthouse, 80 Dundas Street, which hears every family matter. Ontario's Family Court branch of the Superior Court hears every family matter in its 25 locations; elsewhere, divorce and property division go to the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice hears other matters such as parenting and support.
To practise law in Ontario a lawyer must be licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, which also licenses paralegals. You can look up anyone in the Law Society's public Lawyer and Paralegal Directory, which shows their status and any discipline history. Each lawyer on these pages was checked in that directory before being listed, but people move firms, so check again before you hire. Complaints about a lawyer go to the Law Society.
Listings are provided for information only and are not legal advice or a recommendation. Always check a lawyer in the Law Society of Ontario's Lawyer and Paralegal Directory before hiring them. Looking for a different area? Browse all practice areas.