Family Lawyer in Ajax, Ontario

Family lawyers for Ajax

SLG Lawyers is an Ajax law firm. Our office is at Unit 5, 362 Kingston Road West, on the west side of town, so Ajax clients can sit down with us in person, bring documents in, sign agreements and have affidavits commissioned without leaving the community.

Many of the Ajax families we work with are young, busy and stretched: two working parents, children in local schools, a mortgage on a home in a newer subdivision and family in the same city or overseas. When a relationship ends, the first questions are usually practical. Who stays in the house? Where will the children sleep this week? How do we pay two sets of bills on the same income? We give you clear answers to those questions early, then build the legal plan around them.

Family law services for Ajax clients

• Separation and divorce, including separation agreements and uncontested divorces
• Parenting time and decision-making responsibility and parenting plans
• Child and spousal support, including section 7 expenses
• Property division, equalization of net family property and the matrimonial home
• Motions to change existing orders and agreements
• Cohabitation and marriage contracts, and independent legal advice on agreements
• Muslim family law, including mahr and religious divorce

The matrimonial home in Ajax

For most Ajax couples the home is the largest asset, and it gets special treatment under Ontario's Family Law Act. Both spouses have an equal right to live in the matrimonial home until there is an agreement or court order, no matter whose name is on title, and neither spouse can sell or mortgage it without the other's consent.

We help you decide whether to sell, buy out the other spouse or keep the home for the children for a period of time, and we work out how the home's value is treated in the equalization calculation. Because our firm also handles real estate, we can complete the transfer of title or the refinancing that follows your separation agreement in the same office.

Where Ajax family cases are heard

Family cases for Ajax residents are heard at the Superior Court of Justice, Family Court (a Unified Family Court site) at the Durham Region Courthouse, 150 Bond Street East, Oshawa. This one court hears divorce, parenting, support, property and child protection matters. Our office is in Ajax, about 20 minutes from the courthouse in Oshawa along Highway 401.

Before most first court dates, both parties must attend a Mandatory Information Program session. The first court event is usually a case conference, where a judge helps identify the issues, encourages settlement and makes procedural orders. We prepare your financial statement, conference brief and disclosure so that the conference achieves something.

Culturally aware family law

Ajax is one of the most diverse communities in Durham Region. We regularly act for clients whose marriages were performed abroad or under religious law, whose spouse lives outside Canada, or whose property is in more than one country. We advise on how Ontario law treats a foreign marriage or divorce, and on Muslim family law issues such as mahr and religious divorce alongside the civil divorce.

Family law deadlines to know

• 6 years after separation, or 2 years after a divorce, whichever comes first, to claim an equalization of net family property (Family Law Act, s. 7(3)).
• 30 days to serve and file an Answer after being served with a family Application in Ontario.
• 60 days' written notice before a relocation that significantly affects a child's relationship with the other parent.

Exceptions apply. Speak with a lawyer about the deadlines in your case.

Legal Aid certificates for Ajax families

We accept Legal Aid Ontario certificates for eligible family law matters. If you have a certificate or think you may qualify, contact us and we will confirm whether we can take your file. Read our guide to Legal Aid for family law. We are a private firm and are not affiliated with Legal Aid Ontario.

How to get started

1. Call, WhatsApp or use the consultation form with a short description of your matter.
2. We run a conflict check before discussing details.
3. We book a consultation with a lawyer, in person in Ajax or by video.
4. If you proceed, you receive a written retainer or contingency agreement before work begins.
5. We send a document checklist and confirm next steps and deadlines.