The most common ground for divorce in Canada is one year of separation. You and your spouse must have lived separate and apart for at least one year before a divorce order can be granted. You don't have to wait until the year is up to start the legal process — you can file for divorce as early as the date of separation — but the court won't grant the order until the year has elapsed.
There are two other grounds for divorce under the Divorce Act: adultery and physical or mental cruelty. These allow divorce without waiting a year, but they are rare in practice and carry additional evidentiary requirements. Most divorces proceed on the one-year separation ground.
An uncontested divorce is one where one party files and the other receives service of the documents, but does not participate any further in the process. Often this happens when both parties agree on all terms — property, support, and parenting — and wish to cooperate to ask the court to grant the divorce itself. Sometimes the parties have already entered a comprehensive separation agreement settling all other issues, and are using uncontested divorce as the procedure that most efficiently gets them a divorce. In Ontario, once the one-year separation period has passed and the required documents are in order, an uncontested divorce can be completed in roughly 4 to 7 months from filing, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, depending on the court and the unique factors applicable to your situation.
A contested divorce — where spouses cannot agree on the terms and a judge must decide — is a different matter entirely. Contested family law proceedings often take 2 to 4 years or longer, depending on court scheduling, the complexity of the issues, and whether the parties are willing to settle.
Here's something many people miss: the divorce itself is a relatively simple court order that ends the marriage. The harder and more expensive work is resolving the property, support, and parenting issues. These don't have to be resolved before a divorce is granted (though they often are), and they can be addressed separately. Getting a divorce does not, by itself, settle your property rights or support obligations.
The biggest factor in how long your divorce takes is whether you and your spouse can reach agreement. Mediation, collaborative law, and negotiated separation agreements dramatically reduce timelines and costs. Litigation extends both. If both parties are motivated to reach a fair resolution quickly, it is often possible to complete the full process — separation agreement plus divorce order — within 12 to 18 months of separation.
This is a general overview. For advice specific to your situation, contact Sheard Law at 416-860-9990 or use our intake form.
