Scope of service
A plan for all five parts of your separation — and where a lawyer still fits.
Cairn is honest about this on every page. Here's the full version. Free to start. No credit card. Built for Ontario.
Read first
The shape of the platform.
Five things to understand before you read further.
The cornerstone
Legal information.
Not legal advice.
These are not the same thing, and the difference matters.
Legal information is general — it tells you what Ontario family law says, how the process works, and what people in similar situations typically consider. Legal advice is the application of that law to your specific circumstances by a licensed professional who knows your case.
Everything Cairn produces is legal information. Cairn never tells you what to do in your specific situation. It shows you how the process works, helps you understand your options, and prepares you to make your own decisions — or to work more effectively with a professional when you need one.
This distinction shapes every piece of content and every feature in the platform.
Scope
What Cairn does, and what it doesn't.
What it does
- A personalized, step-by-step action plan built from your intake — covering all five dimensions: Parenting, Financial, Wellbeing, Life Reset, and getting ready for the Legal process
- Financial tools: child support and spousal support estimators, a Two-Budget Builder, tax flag cards, and — in the Complete plan — a cash-flow calendar that flags negative-balance days, plus a full suite of complex asset and equalization tools
- Parenting and wellbeing support — co-parenting tools, a parenting log, and resources for the real emotional weight of separation
- General legal information about Ontario family law — what the process looks like, what the common forms are, what your options are at each stage
- Plain-language explanations of how each option works, so you can weigh them yourself, side by side
- Guided preparation of the common Ontario family court forms — Form 8, Form 13.1, Form 35.1
- Referrals to licensed Ontario family lawyers, paralegals, mediators, Certified Divorce Financial Analysts, and Licensed Insolvency Trustees
- A calm, plain-language interface that doesn't rush you or alarm you
What it doesn't
- Provide legal advice about your specific situation — that requires a licensed professional
- Represent you in court or at any hearing
- Create a lawyer–client or paralegal–client relationship of any kind
- Predict or guarantee your outcome
- Replace a lawyer or paralegal when one is genuinely needed
- Serve people outside Ontario, Canada — family law varies significantly by province, and Cairn is built specifically for Ontario
When to call a pro
Some situations need more than a guide.
If any of these apply to you, get legal advice soon.
- You've been served with a court application and have a response deadline — a legal professional can advise on the response; bring the application, the deadline, and the timeline Cairn helped you lay out.
- There are safety concerns — for you, your children, or anyone else involved. This is a call for a legal professional, and often an urgent one; bring any documentation and your account of what's happened.
- There is significant property, a pension, a business, or equity compensation at stake — valuation and division need a legal professional; bring the asset and income picture Cairn helped you assemble.
- You and your ex are in sharp disagreement on core issues — a mediator can help you reach agreement, with a legal professional to advise and formalize it; bring the list of where you agree and disagree that Cairn helped you draw up.
- You've been served with a motion or have an urgent hearing date — a legal professional should advise before you file or appear; bring the motion documents and your hearing date.
Cairn flags these situations during your intake and connects you with professionals from the directory. You won't be left without a next step.
See it for yourself
Run real Ontario support numbers in two minutes.
The free calculator uses the same Federal Child Support Guidelines and Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines that Ontario courts work from. It's the fastest way to see what Cairn's legal information looks like in practice — no signup, no email.
Ready when you are
See where you actually stand. Today.
- Your specific Ontario plan, free, in five minutes
- Your real support estimates — no credit card
- The one next step that's right for your situation
- 14-day money-back promise on any paid tier