Form 35.1 Affidavit Ontario: How to Complete It for Custody Cases

Form 35.1 is the document that makes or breaks your custody case in Ontario. Every parent who claims parenting time or decision-making responsibility must file one — and it's the single most important piece of writing you'll produce during your family court proceedings.

Unlike a financial statement (which is mostly numbers), Form 35.1 is a sworn affidavit where you describe your parenting history, your proposed arrangement, and why it serves your child's best interests. A weak Form 35.1 signals to the judge that you haven't thought seriously about your child's needs.

What Form 35.1 Requires

The affidavit covers several mandatory sections:

Your caregiving history. Describe in specific, chronological detail who did what for the child before separation. Who handled morning routines, school pickups, medical appointments, bedtime? Courts weigh the pre-separation caregiving pattern heavily — a parent who claims they want 50/50 parenting time but historically left most daily care to their spouse faces an uphill battle.

Your proposed parenting arrangement. This is your plan for decision-making responsibility and parenting time. It must be specific: which days, which times, transition locations, holiday rotation, summer schedule. "I want equal time" is not a parenting plan.

How your proposal serves the child's best interests. You need to connect your proposed schedule to the factors in Section 24 of the Children's Law Reform Act and Section 16 of the Divorce Act: the child's physical and emotional needs, stability, the strength of each parent-child relationship, willingness to support the other parent's relationship with the child, and the child's own views (if age-appropriate).

Communication plan. How will you and your co-parent communicate about the child? Email, text, co-parenting app? What's the expected response time? What constitutes an emergency?

Family violence disclosure. You must disclose any history of family violence — whether you were the victim, the perpetrator, or the child was exposed. Courts take incomplete disclosure seriously. If you omit something that the other parent raises, your credibility suffers.

Common Mistakes

Writing a grievance list instead of a parenting plan. The judge doesn't want to read about every time your spouse was late for pickup. They want to see a thoughtful, detailed proposal for how you'll parent going forward. Lead with your plan, not your complaints.

Being vague. "The children will spend time with both parents" tells the judge nothing. Specify: "The children will be with the Applicant every Monday and Tuesday overnight, with the Respondent every Wednesday and Thursday overnight, with weekends alternating from Friday at 5:00 PM to Sunday at 6:00 PM."

Ignoring the child's developmental needs. A 2-2-3 schedule might work beautifully for a toddler but poorly for a teenager. Your affidavit should explain why your proposed schedule fits your child's specific age, school requirements, and attachment needs.

Overstating your caregiving role. If your spouse handled 80% of daily childcare before separation, claiming you want (and can realistically deliver) a 50/50 schedule will look opportunistic. Courts respect honesty about the pre-separation dynamic and realistic plans for increasing involvement.

Filing the wrong financial form. Form 35.1 accompanies either Form 13 (support claims only) or Form 13.1 (property and support claims). If you file the wrong financial statement, the court clerk may refuse your documents.

How to Strengthen Your Affidavit

Start with your parenting plan. Draft the detailed schedule, decision-making allocation, communication protocol, and Section 7 expense arrangement first. Then write the affidavit to support and explain why that plan serves your child's best interests.

Use the child's actual routine as your foundation. If your child has school from 8:30 to 3:00, hockey practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and piano on Saturdays, your proposed schedule should account for these commitments and explain who will handle them.

The Ontario Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide is built around the Form 35.1 preparation process — it walks you through drafting each section of your parenting proposal using worksheets that align directly with what the affidavit requires.

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