Financial disclosure

What is it for?

Rule 13 — Financial Disclosure gives the court and the other parties the financial information needed to deal with support, property and exclusive possession of the matrimonial home. A party making such a claim in an Application, Answer or motion generally serves and files a financial statement with the claim. The responding party generally provides one within the response period. A parenting-only case may not automatically need one, but the court can order Form 13 under Rule 13(2).

What it can and cannot do

A financial statement summarizes income, expenses, assets and debts; it does not replace tax records, income proof or other required documents. Financial disclosure helps determine financial issues. It does not itself decide support or property. A conference confirmation tells the court an event is proceeding; it is not a financial update.

Which forms do you use?

• Form 13 — Financial Statement (Support Claims): support issues without a property claim.
• Form 13.1 — Financial Statement (Property and Support Claims): a property claim, with or without support.
• Form 13A — Certificate of Financial Disclosure: records which supporting documents you disclosed. It is a separate certificate, not the financial statement.
• Form 14A — Affidavit: may confirm that the last statement remains true, or identify minor changes, when Rule 13(12.1) permits this update route.
• Form 13B — Net Family Property Statement: additional net family property calculation in a Part I Family Law Act property case; Form 13C is the joint comparison required at the applicable stage.
• Form 17F — Confirmation of Conference: the separate Rule 17 confirmation for a scheduled conference.

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How to prepare your disclosure

1. Identify every financial claim.Check the Application, Answer or motion for child or spousal support, property and exclusive possession. Select Form 13 or 13.1 accordingly, and check any order requiring disclosure in a parenting-only case.
2. Complete the statement accurately.Use current income, expenses, assets and debts. Include the applicable schedules and explain estimates. Redact account numbers and other sensitive identifiers from the filed copy while retaining originals.
3. Gather the evidence behind it.Rule 13(3.1) and the Child Support Guidelines require income material in support cases; claimed section 7 special or extraordinary expenses need proof. Property/equalization claims have a longer document list in Rule 13(3.3), including tax, account, debt, pension and valuation records.
4. List what you provided in Form 13A.Give the other party the required supporting documents and complete the certificate. A certificate is not a substitute for documents that have not actually been produced.
5. Serve and file the required court documents.Serve under Rule 6, record service using Form 6B, and file through the applicable route. Check Rule 9 for how documents belong in the continuing record. Rule 13(10) can prevent acceptance of a pleading or motion that lacks a required financial statement.

Before a case or settlement conference

There are two separate checks. Under Rule 13(12), compare the date of the information in your last Form 13 or 13.1 with the conference date. If it will be more than 60 days old, serve and file an update. Under Rule 17, separately complete Form 17F to confirm the conference by 2 p.m. three business days before it. Form 17F does not update your financial statement.

1. If the statement remains accurate: Rule 13(12.1) permits a Form 14A affidavit confirming no changes.
2. If changes are minor: a Form 14A can describe the changes and confirm that the rest remains true.
3. If changes are substantial: serve and file a new Form 13 or 13.1 with current information and the applicable disclosure material.

The 60-day clock: The rule refers to the information in the last financial statement, not the date of a later Form 14A affidavit. A confirmation affidavit updates the information for that event but is not a newly dated Form 13/13.1. At a later conference, check the last financial statement again and update if the rule is triggered.

Rule 9 does not require duplicating an unchanged statement already in the record. Rule 13’s affidavit route lets you identify the existing statement and confirm or explain changes. Always provide new supporting information that must be disclosed.

Timeline: service to court date

1. With the claim or response: where Rule 13(1) applies, the claimant provides a financial statement with the Application, Answer or motion; the respondent does so within the applicable response time. Serve supporting material and complete Form 13A as required.
2. Conference age test: if the last financial statement information will be more than 60 days old by the case or settlement conference, use the Rule 13(12.1) update route. The party requesting the conference (or applicant when no party requested it) serves and files by 6 days before; the other party by 4 days before, subject to an order.
3. Conference confirmation: give the other party Form 17F and file it by 2 p.m. three business days before the conference under Rule 17 and the East Region direction. This is separate from the financial update and the Form 17A brief.
4. Other events: Rule 13(12) uses a 30-day age test for a motion and a 40-day test for trial, with their own filing deadlines. Review the current subrules and the hearing order before those events; Rule 3 explains how to count days.

If the other party's disclosure is incomplete

1. Ask in writing first.Under Rule 13(11), identify the specific missing information and why it is needed to understand the other party's finances. Keep a dated copy and a list of what is later produced.
2. After seven days: if requested information is still missing, you may ask the court on motion or at a case or settlement conference to order its production or a new financial statement. Tell the court what you requested and what remains outstanding.
3. Follow the order.Questioning on a financial statement under Rule 20 has its own requirements and follows the Rule 13(11) request. Do not assume that a written request automatically schedules questioning.

Useful record: “On [date], I requested [specific documents]. I received [items]. [Items] remain outstanding. I ask for production by [date].”

Property cases and continuing updates

For a net family property claim, Form 13.1 and the underlying records are only part of the package. Rule 13(14) requires Form 13B at the prescribed settlement-conference and trial stages; Rule 13(14.2) also addresses the joint Form 13C comparison. Consult the full rule for deadlines and exceptions.

Rule 13(15) requires correction when information is wrong, incomplete or materially changed. The obligation continues after the first statement. If disclosure is not provided, Rule 13(16) allows an order to produce it with costs; continued breach of a disclosure order can lead to the serious consequences listed in Rule 13(17).

Hot points to remember

• Form 13A is a document list: you still have to disclose the supporting records.
• No automatic duplicate: cite the existing financial statement in the record and use a permitted Form 14A update when it remains accurate or changes are minor.
• Check the statement itself for age: the 60-day conference test refers to the last financial statement information; a later Form 14A does not become a new Form 13.
• Keep proof of requests: write specifically, wait the Rule 13(11) seven days, then identify what remains missing to the court.
• Keep it current: correct errors and material changes promptly, even between events.

Page and evidence limits

Rule 13 sets no general page limit on Forms 13, 13.1 or 13A. Complete the required schedules and supply supporting documents as the rule requires. Form 17A conference briefs have a separate 8-page limit under the provincial practice direction, and motion affidavits have separate limits. Do not try to place all bank statements or tax records inside the conference brief to avoid the proper disclosure process.

Ottawa filing and sources

Use Family Submissions Online for court filing. Self-represented parties may also use the counter or email under the provincial direction; email filing has stated limits. Save acceptance confirmation and the Case Document List. A Case Center upload is not filing; staff upload accepted pretrial documents for self-represented parties in the East Region. Check the East Region direction for Ottawa scheduling and confirmation.

This is general Ontario legal information with an Ottawa Superior Court focus. Read the current rule, forms, directions and any order in your case before filing.