By Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce · Updated
The case conference is where a judge learns what the case is. The settlement conference is where a judge tries to end it. The two look alike from the outside, same courtroom, same forms family, same week-before deadlines, but the settlement conference has one requirement the case conference does not: you must put an offer in writing before you walk in. This guide is about what the rules say the settlement conference is for, what Form 17C asks that Form 17A did not, and how to use the one conference at which a judge may tell you how the case would probably come out. This guide is for Ontario. The settlement conference, Form 17C and the mandatory offer are Ontario Family Law Rules procedure. Separate guides cover the case conference and its brief, Form 17A, and formal offers to settle across Canada and the United States.
| When it happens | The court's page: a judge "will require that the parties also attend a settlement conference if there are issues that were not resolved during the case conferences." |
|---|---|
| What it is for | Rule 17(5): settling or narrowing the issues, and "if possible, obtaining a view of how the court might decide the case." |
| The brief | Form 17C, Settlement Conference Brief (General). Four parts: Family facts; Issues; Procedural matters; Offer to settle. |
| The offer | "For the settlement conference, you must also complete an Offer to Settle. This is mandatory." Rule 18 governs it. |
| When the brief is due | Six days before if you are the applicant or requested the conference; four days before if you are the respondent. Rules 17(13) and 17(13.1). |
| Financial statement | If yours is more than 60 days old: a new Form 13 for a major change, or a Form 14A affidavit for no change or minor changes, plus Form 13A. Same six-day and four-day timetable. |
| Confirmation | Form 17F, "no later than 2:00 p.m. three days before the conference," or the conference can be cancelled. |
| Confidentiality | Form 17C and the offer do not go into the continuing record unless a judge orders it. "All other documents must be filed in the continuing record." |
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The Ontario Court of Justice reproduces Rule 17(5) on its settlement-conference page. The purposes of a settlement conference include:
exploring the chances of settling the case;. settling or narrowing the issues in dispute;. ensuring disclosure of the relevant evidence;. settling or narrowing any issues relating to expert evidence or reports on which the parties intend to rely at trial;. noting admissions that may simplify the case;. if possible, obtaining a view of how the court might decide the case;. considering any other matter that may help in a quick and just conclusion of the case;. if the case is not settled, identifying the witnesses and other evidence to be presented at trial, estimating the time needed for trial and scheduling the case for trial;. organizing a trial management conference, or holding one if appropriate;. in a motion to change a final order or agreement under Rule 15, determining the most appropriate process for a quick and just conclusion.
Set that beside Rule 17(4), the case conference list, and the difference is in two entries. The case conference is about "identifying the issues that are in dispute and those that are not," and "setting a specific timetable." The settlement conference is about "settling or narrowing" them, and about "obtaining a view of how the court might decide the case."
That second purpose is what makes the settlement conference different in kind. A case conference judge organises. A settlement conference judge, with the parties' briefs and offers in hand, may say what they think the likely outcome is. That opinion is not binding, and the judge who gives it will not be the trial judge. But it is the closest thing to a preview of trial that a family case offers, and it is worth preparing for as such.
The September 2023 version of Form 17C has four parts.
Part 1: Family facts. As in Form 17A.
Part 2: Issues. The court's summary of what the form asks for: "the issues you and the other party agree and do not agree on," "your financial information," and "the issues that you want to discuss at the settlement conference." By the settlement conference this list should have shortened since the case conference. If it has not, the reason why is itself something the judge will want to understand.
Part 3: Procedural matters. Whether a parenting assessment is finished (item 12), whether expert evidence is needed and who the expert is (item 13), and, at item 19, a trial time estimate: "I estimate that the trial time needed for my part of this trial is [ ] days; the other side's part of this trial is [ ] days." That item exists because purpose (g) of Rule 17(5) is scheduling the trial if the case does not settle. Filling it in honestly is how you avoid a trial date that is too short.
Part 4: Offer to settle. The part with no equivalent in Form 17A. Item 20: "The following is my offer to settle the outstanding issues in this case," with a choice between "offer to settle all issues" and "offer to settle some of the issues."
The court's page is unambiguous: "For the settlement conference, you must also complete an Offer to Settle. This is mandatory. Rule 18 of the Family Law Rules applies to Offers to Settle. The Offer to Settle is a confidential document and does not go into the continuing record."
Form 17C's own note in Part 4 explains what you are doing when you fill it in: "If you have already made an offer and it is still open for acceptance, attach a copy to this brief. If you have not made an offer to settle, you must make one here. If you do not have enough information about all the issues, make a partial offer on those issues for which you do have enough information."
And it explains the consequence: "The other side can accept your offer. And if the other side does accept it, the accepted offer becomes a binding contract and can be turned into a court order that can be enforced against you. The other side can make a counter-offer."
Read that as the form intends. The offer in Part 4 is not a talking point for the conference. It is an offer, capable of acceptance, and if accepted it binds you. Every figure in it should be one you would sign.
The form adds two drafting instructions. "In your offer for child support, give detailed calculations for any claim for special expenses or for undue hardship." And: "If your offer deals with spousal support, it will be helpful to your case if you attach detailed calculations showing the effect of income tax on any proposed support order."
The separate guide on formal offers to settle covers what Rule 18 does with an offer after the conference, including the costs consequences.
They are the same shape as for the case conference, and the court's page states them for the settlement conference specifically.
The brief. "Rule 17(13) states that you are required to serve and file a Settlement Conference Brief (Form 17C)." And under Rule 17(13.1): "If you are the Applicant and are requesting the conference, you must serve and file your settlement conference brief (Form 17C) six (6) days before your settlement conference. If you are the Respondent, you must serve and file your settlement conference brief (17C) no later than four (4) days before."
The financial statement. "If you are required to serve and file a financial statement, you will need to update your financial statement if it is more than 60 days since you completed the original financial statement that you filed with the court." A new Form 13 "if there has been a major change," or "A Form 14A: Affidavit, if there is no change or only minor changes," with details of all the changes; on the same six-day and four-day timetable; and "You also must fill out Form 13A: Certificate of Financial Disclosure."
The confirmation. "You must also fill in form 17F and deliver it to the court office no later than 2:00 p.m. three days before the conference. If you do not confirm that you will be attending the conference, it could be cancelled by the court."
The service package. The court lists Form 17 (Conference Notice), Form 17C and Form 6B (Affidavit of Service) as the documents to serve and file, and three copies of each: "one for yourself, one for the other party and the original for the court."
Two sentences on the court's page decide this. "Form 17C does not go into your continuing record unless the judge orders that you put it into the continuing record." And: "Other than Form 17C and the Offer to Settle, all other documents must be filed in the continuing record."
So the brief and the offer are confidential to the conference; everything else you rely on, including an updated financial statement, goes into the record. That division is what allows a settlement conference brief to say what you would accept. It is also why the brief is the wrong place for evidence you will need at trial.
Before filing, the redaction rule applies: remove "all financial account numbers and personal identifying information," including social insurance numbers, bank and credit card numbers, and "Account numbers for mortgages, lines of credit and other loans." The court adds: "You must keep the original documents that show this information because a judge may want to see it."
Start from the last offer, not from your opening position. The judge will have both parties' Part 4 offers. The distance between them is what the conference is about. An offer that has not moved since the case conference tells the judge the party is not there to settle.
Make Part 2 shorter than it was in Form 17A. Every issue that has settled since the case conference should be recorded as agreed. The judge's time goes to what is left.
Do the calculations the form asks for. Special expenses, undue hardship and the tax effect of spousal support are the three places Form 17C asks for numbers. A brief that provides them is one the judge can work with; one that does not invites the judge to work with the other side's.
Decide in advance what you would do with a judicial view. Purpose (e), "obtaining a view of how the court might decide the case," is only useful if you have decided beforehand how much weight you will give it. A view against you is information, not a defeat.
Bring the record of every offer. Offers in a divorce come in rounds, and the sequence is what shows the judge who has moved. Form 17C asks you to attach any open offer; the fuller history is what lets you explain it.
Verification note. Rules 17 and 18 were not read from e-Laws for this page, because that site now renders only in a browser. The subrule numbers, periods and the mandatory-offer requirement are as stated on the Ontario Court of Justice's page, which is the court's own guidance. What Rule 18 does with an unaccepted offer after the conference, including any costs consequence, is not described here. The Superior Court of Justice may have regional practice directions on settlement conference materials that this page does not cover.
Yes. The court's page says the offer to settle "is mandatory," and Form 17C says "If you have not made an offer to settle, you must make one here." If you lack information on some issues, the form allows a partial offer on the ones you can address.
Yes. The form's own words: "The other side can accept your offer. And if the other side does accept it, the accepted offer becomes a binding contract and can be turned into a court order that can be enforced against you." Do not put a figure in Part 4 that you would not sign.
Rule 17(5)(e) makes "obtaining a view of how the court might decide the case" a purpose of the conference, "if possible." A judge may give one. It is not binding and the settlement conference judge does not conduct the trial.
No, unless a judge orders it. Neither does the offer. Everything else, including a financial statement or affidavit filed for the conference, does.
The Confirmation of Conference. It must reach the court office by 2:00 p.m. three days before the conference. Without it the conference can be cancelled.
Rule 17(5)(g) and (h): the conference identifies witnesses and evidence, estimates the time needed for trial, schedules the case for trial, and may organise a trial management conference. Item 19 of Form 17C, the trial time estimate, is where that starts.
Last reviewed September 2026. Researched and written by Neta, founder of SortMyDivorce. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice — laws, fees and forms change, so please confirm current details with the official sources above or a local family lawyer.
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