Answer to Divorce Application Ontario (Form 10)

You have been served with divorce papers — a stack of documents including a Form 8A (Application for Divorce) and a blank Form 10 (Answer). The clock is already running. If you do not respond within the deadline, the court will note you in default and the divorce can proceed entirely without your input.

Here is what Form 10 does, when you need to file it, and what happens if you decide not to.

The Response Deadline Is Non-Negotiable

Once you are served with a divorce application in Ontario, you have a fixed window to file your Answer:

• 30 days if you were served anywhere in Canada
• 60 days if you were served in the United States
• 90 days if you were served anywhere else internationally

These timelines run from the date of service, not the date you actually read the documents. The person who served you will swear a Form 6B (Affidavit of Service) confirming the exact date, and the court uses that date to calculate your deadline.

There is no automatic extension. If you need more time, ask the court for an order extending the deadline.

What Happens If You Do Not File an Answer

If the 30-day window passes and you have not filed Form 10, the applicant can ask the court clerk to note you in default. Under default, you lose the right to:

• File any documents in the proceeding
• Receive notice of future steps
• Participate in the judicial desk review
• Object to the terms of the divorce order

The applicant then proceeds to file their judgment package (Form 36, Form 25A, and supporting materials), and a judge reviews the case entirely based on what the applicant submitted. You will not be asked for your side. The judge can grant the divorce, set support amounts, and make parenting orders — all without hearing from you.

Default is not permanent in all cases. You can bring a motion to set aside the default, but you will need to show the court a reasonable explanation for the delay and demonstrate that you have a valid defense to at least some of the claims. This costs time and usually money, and there is no guarantee the court will agree.

When You Should File Form 10

Filing an Answer makes sense when you disagree with something material in the application. Common reasons include:

Disputing the separation date. If the applicant claims you separated on a date you disagree with, this matters because the separation date determines the valuation date for net family property equalization. A few months' difference can shift the value of assets — especially pensions, investments, or a home that changed in value — by thousands of dollars.

Challenging support claims. If the applicant is claiming spousal support or child support amounts you believe are incorrect, your Answer is where you set out your position and the facts supporting it. For child support, the amounts are calculated using the Federal Child Support Guidelines tables, so if the applicant has misstated their income (or yours), the Answer is how you put the correct figures before the court.

Contesting parenting arrangements. If Form 8A includes claims about decision-making responsibility or parenting time that you disagree with, you need to respond. The judge has a statutory duty under section 11(1)(b) of the Divorce Act to ensure reasonable arrangements are in place for any dependent children, and they will rely on whatever information is before them.

Disagreeing with property claims. If the applicant is claiming property division or an equalization payment and you believe the calculation is wrong — perhaps they have not properly excluded pre-marital assets or inheritances, or they have misvalued the matrimonial home — your Answer sets out your version of the numbers.

When You Might Not Need to File

If you agree with everything in the application — the separation date, the ground for divorce, any support amounts, and the proposed parenting plan — filing an Answer may be unnecessary. Many respondents in uncontested divorces simply let the 30-day window pass, allowing the applicant to proceed with the desk review.

This is the fastest path to a final divorce order. The applicant files their judgment package, a judge reviews it in chambers without a hearing, and — if everything checks out — signs the Divorce Order (Form 25A). The order takes effect 31 days later, after which either spouse can request the Certificate of Divorce (Form 36B).

The risk of not filing is that you accept whatever the applicant has put in front of the judge. If the support calculation is slightly off, or the separation date is wrong by a few weeks, those details get baked into the final order. Fixing them after the fact requires an appeal or a motion to change — both of which are significantly more expensive and time-consuming than filing an Answer in the first place.

How to File Form 10

Form 10 is filed at the same Superior Court of Justice location where the applicant opened the case (the court file number is on the Form 8A you were served). You can file electronically through the Ontario Courts Public Portal (for Toronto) or Family Submissions Online (for other regions).

Your Answer must also be served on the applicant — the same service rules that applied to the original application apply here, though an Answer does not require special service the way an originating document does.

Once your Answer is filed, the case is no longer uncontested. The court will schedule a case conference — a meeting with a judge to identify the issues in dispute and explore settlement — before the matter can proceed to a hearing or trial. Contested divorces in Ontario take anywhere from 6 to 36 months depending on the complexity of the issues.

Deciding Whether to Respond

The decision comes down to whether anything in the application is wrong or unfair in a way that will cost you — financially, or in terms of time with your children. If the divorce is truly uncontested and both sides agree on the terms, letting the 30-day window expire and allowing the desk review to proceed is the simplest outcome.

If you are unsure, the Ontario Divorce Filing Process Guide breaks down what each section of Form 8A is actually claiming so you can evaluate whether the terms are ones you can live with — or whether filing Form 10 is the right move to protect your interests.

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