I would like to know if I can file for sole custody of my son without a lawyer on grounds of abandonment. I do not

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Which province are you located in?

Good afternoon – sorry to hear about the situation. You could apply for sole custody but you would need to serve the father with your application. If you cannot find him, you would need to hire a private investigator to find him. If he cannot be found, you would need to ask the court to “dispense with service” meaning they will rule you need not serve him.

Does that help answer your question today or did you have any follow up questions?

You need to take all reasonable steps to convince the court that he cannot be found.

Assuming he has a traditional job and lives in Ontario, this shouldn't take more than a few hours to find him.

You'll have to convince the court that you took all reasonable steps to find him before they will excuse service.

He needs to be personally served with this. That would mean going to his last address, checking public records, contacting persons who might know where he lives  etc.   It's relatively straightforward for a private investigator to locate someone in Ontario given the technology now available.

Did you have any additional questions about this issue?

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