$632 to $80,000 — and the path you choose matters more than the lawyer.

Ontario family court fees are set by regulation and updated annually. In 2026 the routine numbers are: $224 to issue a Simple Application for Divorce (Form 8A), $445 to set down a divorce for Divorce Order, $159 for a Notice of Motion. A full Application (Form 8) costs $224 to issue. A Form 14B Motion is $159 to file.

Process server fees are separate. Personal service of an Application typically runs $80 to $150 in urban Ontario, more in rural areas or for evasive respondents. A friend who is not a party to the proceeding can serve documents at no cost.

Court fees apply regardless of whether you have a lawyer. They are paid by the filing party and are not waived for cooperative cases. Fee Waiver Requests are available for low-income filers under O. Reg. 2/05.

Family lawyer hourly rates in Ontario in 2026 typically run $300 to $700 plus HST. Junior associates start lower; senior counsel run higher. Retainers (the up-front deposit) usually range from $3,500 for a simple file to $15,000-plus for contested matters.

What gets billed: every email read and replied to, every phone call returned, every document drafted or reviewed, every appearance attended, plus paralegal and clerk time at lower rates. A 30-minute phone call with a $500/hour lawyer costs $250.

Cost-control levers that work: pay for advice, not paperwork. Use a paralegal or self-file the routine forms; bring the lawyer in for the strategic decisions. Walk into every meeting with documents organized and questions written down. Ask for an estimate of total cost in writing before signing the retainer agreement.

Family Legal Services Providers (FLSPs) are paralegals authorized by the Law Society of Ontario for specific family matters: uncontested and joint divorces, child support modifications, simple separation agreements, name changes, and domestic contract registration. They cannot represent in contested family court matters or draft complex agreements involving pensions or business interests.

FLSP flat fees in 2026 typically run $800-$2,500 for an uncontested or joint divorce, $400-$900 for a child support modification, $1,200-$3,500 for a simple separation agreement. For the matters they are authorized to handle, FLSPs are routinely 60-80% cheaper than lawyers for the same work.

Family mediators charge $200-$400 per hour in Ontario in 2026. A typical separation mediation runs eight to fifteen sessions of one to two hours each. Total cost: $1,800-$5,000, usually split between parties.

What mediation does: settles property, support, parenting, and decision-making in a structured negotiation, then produces a Memorandum of Understanding both parties take to independent legal advice. The MoU becomes a Separation Agreement once each party has had ILA and signed.

When mediation works: both parties are willing to negotiate, no immediate safety concerns, both parties have completed financial disclosure. When it does not: family violence, hidden assets, entrenched bad faith.

Compared with contested litigation, a mediated file routinely runs an order of magnitude less per side — drawing on Ontario Association for Family Mediation rate ranges and provincial bar cost surveys. Even when one or both parties hire lawyers to attend mediation, the total cost is a fraction of a contested file.

The Cairn calculator (Federal Guidelines + SSAG + take-home cash flow) is free. The methodology page is free. The blog and city guides are free. None of these require a signup.

The paid dashboard ($49/month Essentials, $99/month Complete) includes the action plan, parenting log, two-budget builder, document checklist, housing module, worksheets, automatic form prefill, and a vetted Ontario professional directory. Most users keep the subscription for two to four months — the active separation phase.

Put that next to the hourly rate above: Essentials is $49 a month — less than a single billed hour with a $300 to $700 lawyer — and the work it helps you prepare is designed to cut hours off every engagement you do pay for.

Cairn replaces the routine work that professionals charge for. It does not replace the professionals themselves on contested matters, complex valuations, or representation. The savings come from walking into every professional engagement with the work already prepared.