Family law · Parenting
Parenting arrangements in Ontario: the current law
Since March 2021, Ontario and federal law replaced custody and access with decision-making responsibility and parenting time. Here is what the modern framework actually means for your family.
The terms that replaced custody and access
Decision-making responsibility is the authority to make significant decisions about a child's wellbeing — education, health care, religion and culture, and significant extracurriculars. It can be held solely, jointly, or divided by subject between parents.
Parenting time is the schedule of time the child spends in each parent's care. During their parenting time, each parent makes the day-to-day decisions — meals, homework, bedtime — without needing the other's sign-off.
The vocabulary change was deliberate: the old winner-loser framing of custody fights was replaced with language centred on the child.
The only test: best interests of the child
- The child's physical, emotional and psychological needs, and the benefit of stability
- Each parent's ability and willingness to care for the child — and to support the child's relationship with the other parent
- The child's views and preferences, weighted by age and maturity
- The child's cultural, linguistic and spiritual upbringing
- Any family violence and its impact
How arrangements actually get made
Most parenting arrangements are settled by the parents — in a parenting plan inside a separation agreement — not imposed by a judge. Court remains available for genuine disputes, urgency and safety concerns, and for making agreed terms enforceable as orders.
For arrangements in your own family, start with a confidential consultation on our family law page — the first 15 minutes are free.
Parenting questions parents ask
Is 'joint custody' still an option in Ontario?+
The arrangement people mean by it still exists — parents sharing significant decisions — but orders now say joint decision-making responsibility. Parenting time is addressed separately, on the child's schedule rather than a label.
At what age can a child choose which parent to live with?+
There is no magic age in Ontario. A child's views and preferences carry increasing weight with age and maturity as part of the best-interests analysis, but the decision remains the parents' agreement or the court's order.
Can parenting arrangements be changed later?+
Yes — by agreement, or by a Motion to Change where a material change in circumstances affects the child's best interests: relocation, new schedules, new needs.
Do mothers automatically get the children?+
No. The only test is the best interests of the child — the law is explicitly gender-neutral, and courts value each parent's relationship with the child.
Build a parenting arrangement that fits your children
Your first 15 minutes are a free intake call. Substantive advice is billed at $199 per half-hour (CAD), and we confirm the rate with you before billed time begins. Meet us by Google Meet video call or in person at 25 Watline Avenue, Unit GR21, Mississauga. Monday to Friday, 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM.