Steps to complete, serve and file your financial disclosure documents
Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General
Filing family court documents
Filing places a document before the court; it is not the same as serving another party or uploading a hearing copy to Case Center.
Family court documents may be filed through an online portal, at a court counter or by another method permitted for the court and document involved. A document can be properly served but not filed, or filed but not properly served. Both requirements have to be considered separately.
For SCJ matters, uploading material to Case Center is also a separate step from filing. The filing route can depend on the court, location and document type, and current practice directions can change portal or email procedures. The official filing instructions for the case should therefore be checked each time a significant document is filed.
What this source covers
Official Ontario procedural guidance on completing, serving and filing financial statements, certificates of financial disclosure, supporting documents and proof of service.
For exact wording, dates, exceptions and current requirements, read the original source. Binding law and court directions take priority over explanatory material.
Open the official source ↗Related rules, forms and explanations
Family Law Rules — Rule 13: Financial disclosure
Official Family Law Rules provisions governing financial disclosure and financial statements in family proceedings.
Family Law Rules — Rule 6: Service of documents
Official Family Law Rules provisions governing methods of service, including regular and special service and related proof-of-service requirements.
Federal Child Support Guidelines
The Federal Child Support Guidelines contain the federal rules used to determine child support in cases where they apply.
Answering a family law application in Superior Court
The Superior Court guide explains the response process after an Application is served, including the Answer and related filing and service steps.
Key points
An Answer is the responding party’s main response
The Superior Court guide explains the steps for responding after an Application is served, including preparing the Answer and any other documents required by the issues in the case.
Service and filing are part of responding
Preparing the Answer is only one step. The response documents must also be served and filed within the applicable rules and court directions.
Case conferences — Ontario Court of Justice
Current OCJ guidance on case conferences, including Form 17A, financial updates, Form 17F confirmation and Rule 17 service and filing.
Key points
Core case-conference forms
The OCJ identifies Form 17 (Conference Notice) and Form 17A (Case Conference Brief) for a case conference.
What the brief covers
The OCJ describes Form 17A as covering family information, financial circumstances, agreed and disputed issues, issues for discussion and proposed resolution.
Financial disclosure may need updating
The OCJ explains that an older financial statement may need to be updated and also points to Form 13A where financial disclosure is required.
Confirmation
The OCJ identifies Form 17F as the Confirmation of Conference and directs parties to Rule 17(14).
Service and filing
The OCJ points to Rule 17(13) and 17(13.1) for service and filing of conference briefs and gives current OCJ timing information.
Conference briefs have special record treatment
The OCJ notes that Form 17A does not go into the Continuing Record unless the judge orders otherwise.
Family Case Step-by-Step — Ontario Court of Justice
The OCJ step-by-step guide explains how a family case is started, answered and moved through the main procedural stages.
Family case: step-by-step
Current OCJ step-by-step family-case material covering opening a case, responding, document filing and related court procedure.
Key points
Use current forms
The OCJ directs parties to use the latest versions available from Ontario Court Services.
Use one filing method
The OCJ warns parties not to submit the same filing through more than one filing method.
A portal upload is not automatically a filed document
For the Ontario Courts Public Portal, the OCJ explains that court staff review an uploaded document and advise whether it has been accepted or rejected for filing.
Guided Pathways can help complete forms
The OCJ points self-represented users to CLEO Family Law Guided Pathways and Steps to Justice for form-completion and public legal education help.
File family court documents online
Official Ontario information on online family-court filing, including the Ontario Courts Public Portal in Toronto and Family Submissions Online outside Toronto.
Filing documents in a Superior Court family case
The Superior Court guide explains family-court filing and directs users to the current provincial and regional filing directions.
Key points
Filing puts a document into the court record
The Superior Court guide describes online filing through the applicable portal and identifies limited circumstances where paper or email filing is used.
Follow current filing and document-naming directions
The court directs parties to current provincial and regional practice directions for filing requirements, including how electronic documents should be named.
Financial disclosure in Superior Court family cases
The Superior Court guide explains financial statements and supporting financial documents and points to Rule 13 and the Child Support Guidelines where applicable.
Key points
Financial disclosure is normally required for support and property issues
The Superior Court guide states that claims involving child support and expenses, spousal support or property division normally require financial information and supporting documents to be provided to the other party and the court.
Rule 13 is the main Family Law Rule for financial disclosure
The guide points to Rule 13 and, where child support is involved, the Child Support Guidelines. Delayed or incomplete disclosure can delay the case and may affect costs.