Family Law
What Does a Family Lawyer Do? A Plain-Language Guide
A plain-language explanation of what a family lawyer handles in Ontario — separation, divorce, parenting, support, property and domestic contracts — and when you need one.
Reviewed by Sabeeya Akram, Managing Partner, Ayoun & Sabeeya LLP
Published March 28, 2025 · Updated August 31, 2026
The job, in plain language
A family lawyer advises and represents people through relationship formation and breakdown: marriage contracts and cohabitation agreements at the start, separation agreements, divorce, decision-making responsibility, parenting time, child support, spousal support and property division at the end — and changes to any of those when life moves on.
What a family lawyer handles day to day
- Drafting and negotiating separation agreements and parenting plans
- Calculating child support under the Federal Child Support Guidelines, including section 7 special expenses
- Advising on spousal support entitlement, amount and duration
- Equalization of net family property for married spouses
- Court applications and motions where agreement is not possible
- Independent legal advice on agreements drafted elsewhere
- Motions to change existing orders when circumstances materially change
When you can handle it yourself — and when you cannot
Some administrative steps are genuinely self-serve. But anything you sign is likely to bind you for years, and family law rights are easy to waive by accident: support entitlements, property claims, limitation periods. The economical middle path many clients choose is targeted advice — a consultation before key decisions and independent legal advice before signing — rather than full representation.
That is exactly how our consultations are designed: first 15 minutes free, then $199 per half-hour, so you can get real answers at a defined cost. Book by Google Meet or visit us in Mississauga.
The content of this website is legal information about Ontario and Canadian law, not legal advice. Reading it, or contacting us through it, does not create a lawyer-client relationship — that begins only after we confirm in writing that the firm is acting for you.