Ontario
3 lawyers whose firms cover family work in Ottawa. 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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Warren L. Creates · Head of Immigration Law Group · Family · Ottawa
340 Albert Street, Suite 1400, Ottawa, ON K1R 0A5
Heads the firm's Immigration Law Group, acting for individuals, families and employers on work permits, permanent residence, citizenship applications and refugee claims. A former Government of Canada immigration lawyer; his firm lists him as a Law Society of Ontario Certified Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law.
Alison Boyce · Lawyer and Practice Lead, Family Law · Family · Ottawa
11 Holland Avenue, Tower A, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4S1
Leads the firm's Family Law Group and practises only family law, including divorce, property division, support, parenting arrangements and domestic contracts, through negotiation, mediation and court. She joined the firm in 2021. The firm also covers employment law, real estate, wills and estates, and personal injury.
Andrew Montague-Reinholdt · Partner, Employment and Labour Law · Family · Ottawa
50 O'Connor Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, ON K1P 6L2
Partner who leads the firm's employment and labour law groups. He acts for employees and unions on wrongful dismissal claims, contract negotiations, human rights, professional discipline and grievance arbitration. The firm (Nelligan O'Brien Payne LLP) also covers family law, personal injury, real estate and estates.
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.
Ottawa has a Family Court branch of the Superior Court of Justice at the Ottawa Courthouse, 161 Elgin 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.