My spouse is hiding or selling assets: what can I do in Ontario?

If you think your spouse is hiding or selling assets after separation in Ontario, the law gives you three kinds of tools: rules that force full financial disclosure, court orders that stop property from being spent or sold while the case is decided, and remedies that adjust the result when property was wasted. Act quickly. The equalization figure is generally fixed on the valuation date, so the real risk of a post-separation sale is that nothing is left to pay you.

What you can do, step by step

Hidden or vanishing assets are a problem inside the larger property case described on our property division page. Ontario's approach is practical: first make your spouse show everything, then protect what exists, then deal with what has already gone.

1. Write down what you know. Accounts, institutions, account numbers if you have them, vehicles, a cottage, a business, cryptocurrency wallets, recent large transfers, and the dates you noticed them. Do not take or copy documents in ways that break the law or a court order; ask a lawyer first.
2. Demand the statutory disclosure. In a property case, each spouse must serve a sworn statement listing property and debts on the marriage date, the valuation date and the date of the statement, and all property disposed of during the two years before the statement or during the marriage, whichever is shorter (Family Law Act, s. 8). Rule 13 of the Family Law Rules adds the financial statement and the documents in rule 13(3.3), such as statements closest to the valuation date for every account.
3. Ask in writing for what is missing. If the disclosure is not enough to understand your spouse's finances, you must first request the missing information in writing. If it is not provided within seven days, the court can order it, or order a new financial statement (rule 13(11)).
4. Go beyond your spouse. If a bank, employer or other non-party holds a document you need, the court can order that non-party to let you examine and copy it, where it would be unfair to continue without it (rule 19(11)). The court can also order questioning under oath, of a party or a non-party, where the information is not easily available another way (rule 20(5)).
5. Freeze what is at risk. In an equalization or title case, the court can make an interim or final order restraining the depletion of a spouse's property and for its possession, safekeeping and preservation (s. 12). Our page on how to freeze assets with a preservation order explains how to ask for one, including urgently in Toronto.
6. Protect the home. A spouse cannot sell or mortgage a matrimonial home without the other spouse's consent, a release in a separation agreement or a court order (s. 21(1)). A transaction made in breach can be set aside, unless the buyer or lender acquired its interest for value, in good faith and without notice that it was a matrimonial home (s. 21(2), s. 23(d)).
7. Ask for the right adjustment. Where property was depleted intentionally or recklessly, the court can award more or less than half the difference in net family properties if equal division would be unconscionable (s. 5(6)(d)).

What your spouse is doing, and what Ontario law offers

What changes the answer

• Timing of the sale or transfer. Net family property is calculated on the valuation date (s. 4(1)). If your spouse sells an investment after separation, its value on that date usually still counts, so the calculation is not reduced. What changes is whether there is money left to pay you. If property was wasted before separation, the remedy is usually the unequal division power in s. 5(6)(d).
• Still living together. While spouses cohabit, if there is a serious danger that one spouse may improvidently deplete net family property, the other can apply to divide as if they had separated (s. 5(3)). A successful application of that kind ends any further equalization claim for the marriage (s. 5(4)).
• Property you think is "gone" may still count. The definition of property in s. 4(1) includes property a spouse disposed of but still has the power to revoke, consume or dispose of. Transfers to a revocable trust, for example, may still be counted.
• Debts created to shrink the numbers. Debts incurred recklessly or in bad faith and claimed to reduce net family property are a listed reason for an unequal result (s. 5(6)(b)). Our page on how debts are handled explains the ordinary rules.
• A business owner. Paying out large bonuses, issuing shares to others or selling business assets after separation can be met with a preservation order, and income moved through a corporation can be counted for support (Child Support Guidelines, s. 18). Our page on a business owned by one spouse covers valuation.
• Income, not property. If the concern is that your spouse is hiding income, the support rules allow the court to impute income where income has been diverted or income information was not provided when legally required (Federal Child Support Guidelines, s. 19(1)(d) and (f)). Our guide to what counts as income for support explains imputation.
• Common-law partners. Sections 5, 8 and 12 apply to married spouses. Common-law partners rely on trust and unjust enrichment claims, title, and the general civil tools of the courts.

A worked example

For example, take Elena and Rob, married for 11 years and separated in March. This is a hypothetical. Elena learns that in January, two months before separation, Rob transferred $150,000 from a joint investment account to his brother. In June, after separation, Rob lists the couple's cottage, which is in his name alone.

• The cottage. If the spouses ordinarily occupied it as a family residence at separation, it may be a second matrimonial home, and Rob cannot sell it without Elena's consent or a court order (s. 18(1) and s. 21(1)). If it is not a matrimonial home, Elena's lawyer would consider an urgent motion under s. 12 to stop the sale or to hold the proceeds in trust.
• The $150,000. Rob's sworn statement under s. 8(d) must list the transfer. At the case conference, Elena can ask why it was made. If it was a gift that wasted family property, she can argue for an unequal division under s. 5(6)(d).
• Records. If Rob does not produce the brokerage records, Elena can request them in writing, then seek an order under rule 13(11), and if needed an order against the brokerage under rule 19(11).

Whether a court grants any of these orders depends on evidence. The example shows the order in which the tools are usually used: disclose, protect, then adjust.

Common mistakes when you suspect hidden assets

• Waiting for proof that the money is gone. Preservation orders protect what still exists. A motion after the money is spent has much less to work with.
• Self-help. Emptying a joint account "to protect it", changing locks or taking your spouse's papers can backfire and lead to costs. Ask for an order instead.
• Skipping the written request. Rule 13(11) requires a written request before the court will order more disclosure, and the motion or conference brief has to say what was requested and not given (r. 13(11.0.1)).
• Assuming a sale after separation lowers what you get. Values are generally fixed on the valuation date. Focus on securing payment, not on re-running the numbers.
• Ignoring the income side. Hidden assets often come with hidden income. Ask for the income documents in s. 21 of the Child Support Guidelines at the same time.
• Letting the limitation period run. The equalization claim, which the preservation powers depend on, has its own deadlines (s. 7(3)). See our page on the deadline to claim equalization.

What to do this week

1. Make a dated list of every asset you know about and any transfer or sale that worries you.
2. Download your own statements for joint accounts, and keep them safe.
3. Send a written request, through a lawyer if you have one, for the specific documents that are missing.
4. Check title to any real estate, and note whether a property was ever used as a family residence.
5. If a sale or transfer looks imminent, speak to a lawyer the same day about an urgent preservation motion.
6. Book a free consultation and bring your list, so the right order can be chosen for your facts.

Frequently asked questions

Can my spouse sell property in their own name after we separate?

Legally they hold title, but a sale can be stopped or restrained by a court order under s. 12 once an equalization or title claim is made, and a matrimonial home cannot be sold without consent or an order (s. 21(1)). Ask early, before the sale closes.

What happens if my spouse lies on their financial statement?

The court has broad powers when a party fails to follow the rules or obey an order, including costs, a penalty or fine, striking out documents, and an order that the party is not entitled to any further order unless the court orders otherwise (Family Law Rules, r. 1(8) and (8.1)). Questioning under oath can be ordered on a financial statement after a written request (r. 13(13)).

Do I have to prove fraud to get a preservation order?

Section 12 asks whether the order is necessary to protect the other spouse's interests under Part I. The evidence you put forward matters, and a judge decides on the facts. Our preservation order guide explains what a motion usually includes.

Can I get records directly from my spouse's bank?

Not on your own, but the court can order a non-party who controls a document to let you see and copy it, if it would be unfair to go on without it (rule 19(11)). The motion must be served on the non-party by special service.

What if my spouse has moved money outside Canada?

The sworn statement under s. 8 covers all of the party's property and debts, wherever the property is held. Orders in an Ontario case are made against your spouse, but enforcing them against assets held abroad can need steps in the other country. Raise it early, because the remedy is easier to frame before more transfers happen.

Does hiding assets affect support too?

It can. Under the Child Support Guidelines, a court can impute income where income has been diverted, property is not reasonably used to generate income, or income information was not provided (s. 19(1)(d), (e) and (f)). Our page on yearly income disclosure covers the continuing duties.

Sources

• Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, ss. 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 18, 21, 23 and 40
• Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99, rules 1(8), 13, 19 and 20
• Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, s. 103
• Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175, ss. 18, 19 and 21
• Child Support Guidelines, O. Reg. 391/97