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Ontario family court · Beta applications open

You should only have to tell your story once. We will carry it across every form.

Build one case profile in plain language. Canadian Formatters fills it into 152 Ontario family court forms. It then exports the official court .docx, ready to print, sign, and file.

See how it works

Free for 20 beta testers going through Ontario family court. It stays free until the public launch.

Why this exists

Most people in Ontario family court do not have a lawyer.

The forms were written as if everyone does.

The same facts, form after form

Ontario family court runs on dozens of forms. Nearly every one asks for the same things. Get a detail wrong, or let two forms disagree, and the filing comes back.

No one checks your work

The forms are written for people who fill them out every day. Most people filling them out are doing it once, under pressure, with a lot riding on it.

The good tools are not for you

Software that makes this easier already exists. It is built for law firms, priced for them, and nobody sells it to the public.

How it works

From your story to a filed form, in three steps.

Step 1

Build your case profile

You do it once, in plain language. No legal jargon, and no PDF wrestling.

Step 2

Find the right form

Not sure whether you need Form 8 or Form 10? Describe your situation. We search the forms' own published descriptions and show you what matches, ranked, with the guide for each one. It suggests. The choice stays yours.

Step 3

Print, sign, and file

Review the finished document. Export the official Ontario .docx and take it to the courthouse. No lawyer, and no re-typing.

What you get

Everything a self-represented filer actually needs.

Your forms never contradict each other

Update your income or your address once. The change lands on every form that uses it. You never have to cross-check that your Application and your Financial Statement agree, so a mismatch never sends the filing back.

Real court-ready documents

Export the official Ontario .docx, filled in and formatted the way the court expects. It is ready to print, sign, and file.

Optional AI that asks, never writes

It reads what you wrote and asks about it. Which arrangement do you mean. What date did that happen. Does this paragraph belong in a different box. You can also ask it about any form: what the form is for, what a section is asking, what happens after you file. It never writes your story for you, and the core tool works fully without it.

Keeps you in the right box

Your details land where they belong whether you are the applicant or the respondent. They never land in the other party's sworn statement.

Every form, explained

Every form comes with a plain-language guide in your account. Each guide covers what the form is for, which forms go with it, and the mistakes to avoid.

Words you can understand

Tap any legal term, such as affidavit, equalization, or service, for a clear one-sentence explanation. You need no law degree.

Using this safely

If someone else can get to your device.

Filling out family court forms can leave traces. A few things worth knowing.

A quick exit, once you are signed in

Turn on quick exit in your account settings and a Leave this site button appears in the top bar. Pressing Escape twice does the same thing: it sends you straight to another website and replaces the page rather than adding it to your history. You choose where it sends you.

It does not erase what is already there

Nothing we build can clear pages, downloads or saved passwords already on a machine. If your device is shared or monitored, a library computer or a friend’s phone is safer than trying to clean up afterward.

We sign you out when you stop

When you sign in you can say this is a public or shared computer, and we then sign you out after fifteen minutes of no activity. On your own device it is eight hours, so an open tab does not stay open forever either way.

We email you rarely, and only about your account

Confirming your address, changing it, resetting your password, and replying about the beta. We cannot yet change the sender name or the subject line, so if an email from us arriving in your inbox would be a problem, tell us in the application and we will keep in touch another way.

A file you export lands on your device

Exports are named after the form, so a finished Application is recognisable in a downloads folder. Rename it or move it if that matters where you are working.

If you are not safe

Free, confidential, and nothing to sign up for.

  • Assaulted Women's Helpline

    1-866-863-0511, or text #SAFE (#7233). TTY 1-866-863-7868.

    Free and confidential, 24 hours a day, in many languages.

  • Talk4Healing

    Call or text 1-855-554-4325.

    For Indigenous women across Ontario. 24 hours a day, by phone, text or chat.

  • ShelterSafe

    sheltersafe.ca

    A map of shelters across Canada, with the help line for every province.

  • Victim Support Line

    1-888-579-2888

    Ontario's multilingual line for victims of crime, 24 hours a day.

  • 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline

    Call or text 9-8-8.

    Free, 24 hours a day, in English and French.

In an emergency, call 911.

Roadmap

Every Ontario family law form is in. Here is what comes next.

Available now

Ontario Family Law Rules forms

152 of the 153 forms published under the Family Law Rules, filled from your case profile

Available

Available now

Appeals & civil procedure

45 Rules of Civil Procedure forms, including the rule 61 appeal forms for the Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court

Available

On the roadmap

Alberta and British Columbia

The same case profile, carried into Alberta and British Columbia family court forms and rules

Planned

Need something else? Email us. Your feedback shapes our roadmap.

Privacy

Your case stays yours.

Hosted in Canada

Your case data is stored on Canadian servers. Text you send to the optional AI features goes to a third-party provider.

PIPEDA-aligned

Built around Canadian privacy law. Your data is never sold, shared, or used without your consent.

Your data is yours

Export or delete a whole case at any time. There is no lock-in.

We are not a law firm

We help you make the paperwork. The decisions stay yours.

Full details are in our privacy policy.

FAQ

Questions people ask.

Is this legal advice?

No. What it does: fills the court's published template from answers you type, searches published form guidance and shows you the source, flags a statement that makes a claim with no date or example behind it, and shows a factual template you fill in yourself. What it does not do: choose which forms to file, tell you what to ask the court for, apply law to your situation, or write your story for you.

Will the court accept documents made here?

Your export is generated from the court's own published template, and we re-check those templates against the ministry's pages every week. Whether a filing is accepted is the court's decision, and it turns on more than the template. The document also has to be complete, correct, and filed under the right rule. That part is yours.

Which forms are supported?

152 of the 153 forms published under the Ontario Family Law Rules. They run from the Application (Form 8) and the Answer (Form 10) to financial statements, motions, affidavits, and conference briefs. Every form comes with a plain-language guide in your account. The 45 Rules of Civil Procedure forms we support include the rule 61 appeal forms for the Court of Appeal and the Divisional Court. Alberta and British Columbia family courts are on the roadmap.

What happens to my information?

We store your case on Canadian servers and handle it in line with PIPEDA, Canada's privacy law. We never sell your data. You can export or delete your whole case whenever you want. In a personal account we delete a document 180 days after you last worked on it, we warn you in the app before that happens, and you can put it off twice. In a clinic or professional workspace documents are kept until the account holder deletes them or the account, because professionals have to retain client files. The optional AI features are the exception: when you use one, the text you send it goes to a third-party AI provider outside our servers, which we do not permit to train on it.

What does the AI assistant actually do?

Two kinds of help, both optional. It reads what you write and asks you questions about it: which arrangement you mean, what date something happened, which of the children this is about, or whether a paragraph belongs in a different section of the form. It never labels your writing and it never writes your story for you. It also answers questions about any form. Ask what the form is for, what a section is asking, and what happens after you file. The core tool works fully without it.

How do I join the free beta?

Apply with the form at the bottom of this page. We onboard 20 people at a time, all of them going through, or about to start, an Ontario family court case. We reply to every application within two business days. If there is no spot open, we send you the form guides and the help directory, and we hold your application for the next group.

Is it safe to use this if I share a device?

Not entirely, and we would rather say so. In your account you can turn on a Leave this site button that replaces the page rather than adding it to your history, and when you sign in you can say the computer is shared, which signs you out after fifteen minutes of no activity. Neither one erases pages, saved passwords or downloads that are already on the machine. If your device is shared or monitored, a library computer or a friend's phone is safer than trying to clean up afterward.

What do beta testers pay?

Nothing. Beta testers use the full product free until the public launch, and we tell you in the app before anything is charged. Their feedback shapes what we build.

What do beta testers actually have to do?

Use the tool for your real case, at your own pace. Tell us what confuses you or what is missing. There are no required calls or meetings. Honest feedback is the whole job.

What this will not do

This tool handles the paperwork. It does not handle your case.

It will not tell you whether to settle, whether an offer is fair, what a good outcome looks like, or whether you should have a lawyer. It cannot tell you what the law says about your situation. Those are legal questions, and you deserve an answer from someone licensed to give one. Most of the help below is free.

Family Law Information Centre (FLIC)

In most family courthouses. Free, and no appointment.

Staff explain the court process and point you to local services. They do not give legal advice, but an advice lawyer attends on some days. Start here if you have a court date coming.

Duty counsel

At the courthouse on the day of your hearing.

Free Legal Aid lawyers. If you qualify financially they can advise you, and sometimes speak for you that day.

Legal Aid Ontario

1-800-668-8258, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 4:30.

Certificates, family law service centres, and a summary advice line.

Your community legal clinic

Find yours at legalaid.on.ca.

Community organizations funded by Legal Aid Ontario. Information, advice and sometimes representation, income-tested.

JusticeNet

Search their directory online.

Lawyers and paralegals who charge a reduced fee if your income is too high for legal aid and too low for standard rates.

Mandatory Information Program

Booked through the court. Free.

Most Ontario family cases require it before the first court date. It explains the process and the options for settling.

If you have a deadline in the next two weeks — a court date, or a deadline to serve an Answer — go to the information centre at your courthouse or call Legal Aid first. Do the forms after.

Getting through this should not also mean re-typing your life a dozen times.

Full access, free. We onboard 20 people at a time. Everyone who applies gets the plain-language form guides and the help directory, whether or not there is a spot open right now.

Apply for the free beta

For people representing themselves. Only your email is required.

We only email you about the beta. If a message from us arriving in your inbox would be a problem, say so below and we will keep in touch another way.

Are you currently going through a family court case in Ontario?
Have you filled out any Ontario court forms yet?

Free during beta · no credit card · we use your email only for beta updates. Privacy · Terms

The beta stays free the whole time. When personal subscriptions start, the core tool will cost $15 a month, and we tell you in the app before anything is charged.

Who we are

A small team in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Canadian Formatters is a federally incorporated Ontario company. We built this to address the access-to-justice problem in Ontario’s family court system.

You can write to Clayton at clayton@canadianformatters.com and get an answer from the founder. For anything else, intake@canadianformatters.com reaches us, using the subject lines on our contact page.

© 2026 Canadian Formatters · Made in Ontario 🍁