Which financial statement do you file in an Ontario family case, and what documents must you attach?

If your case includes a claim for support but no property claim, you use Form 13. If it includes a property claim or a claim for exclusive possession of the matrimonial home, with or without support, you use Form 13.1. The person making the claim serves and files the statement with the application, and the other party does the same within the time to answer, then both serve supporting documents such as tax returns, notices of assessment and, for property, statements as of the valuation date.

The financial statement sits at the centre of any support or property case. For how the overall case moves, see our divorce page. The order of events after filing is in what happens after you start a family case in Toronto.

How do you prepare a financial statement, step by step?

Form 13 or Form 13.1?

Whichever form applies, the clerk will not accept a financial statement in a support claim unless your notices of assessment (and any reassessments) are attached, or the Canada Revenue Agency's Income and Deductions printout where a notice is not available (rule 13(7)).

What documents must you serve with it?

The documents depend on the claim. In a support claim, you serve the income information listed in section 21 of the child support guidelines: three years of personal income tax returns and notices of assessment, a current statement of earnings or employer letter, and business, partnership, corporate or trust records where they apply. If you lost a job within the last three years, add your Record of Employment and a statement of any ongoing benefits from the former employer. For child support, include proof of any special or extraordinary expenses (rule 13(3.1)). This information must also reach the other party before any case conference.

In an equalization claim, within 30 days after your financial statement is due, you also serve (rule 13(3.3)):

• the statement closest to the valuation date for every bank, pension, savings and investment account;
• any request you made for a valuation of your pension;
• the property tax assessment for any Ontario real estate;
• life insurance statements showing face value, cash surrender value and beneficiary;
• three years of business or corporate financial statements and tax returns, if you were self-employed, a partner or had a corporate interest;
• documents showing the value of any other property, including property outside Canada;
• documents supporting any exclusion, such as an inheritance;
• statements for mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards and other debts; and
• available documents showing what you owned and owed on the date of marriage.

You confirm service of these documents with a certificate of financial disclosure (Form 13A). The Family Law Act separately requires each spouse in an equalization case to serve a sworn statement of property and debts as of the date of marriage, the valuation date and the date of the statement, with exclusions claimed and property disposed of in the past two years (section 8).

When must the information be updated?

Financial information goes stale. Before a conference, motion or trial you must serve and file updated information if your last financial statement would otherwise be too old (rule 13(12)):

Before a settlement conference or trial in a property claim, each spouse also serves a net family property statement (Form 13B), and the parties file a comparison of their net family property statements (Form 13C). As soon as you discover that something you served is wrong, incomplete or out of date, you must serve a corrected version (rule 13(15)).

What if the other side's disclosure is incomplete?

First, ask in writing for the specific information missing. If it is not provided within seven days, the court may order it, or order a new financial statement, on a motion or at a case conference or settlement conference (rule 13(11)). If a required document is still not served, the court can order it and must then also order costs (rule 13(17)). In a child support claim, the court can impute income to a parent who does not disclose, and draw an adverse inference (child support guidelines, sections 19, 22 and 23); see child support when the other parent lives abroad for how that works with income from outside Canada.

Disclosure also matters long after the case. A court can set aside a domestic contract, such as a separation agreement, if a party failed to disclose significant assets, debts or other liabilities that existed when it was made (Family Law Act, section 56(4)).

What about property and income in Iran?

The rules do not exempt foreign property. Accounts, real estate and business interests outside Canada go on the statement and need supporting documents like anything else, and in a 2017 Court of Appeal case the owner of unappraised property in Iran was held responsible for proving its value. See whether property in Iran counts in Ontario. Other questions that come up for Iranian-Canadian families are gathered on our page about what a Persian-speaking family lawyer in Toronto can do.

What changes the answer?

• What you are claiming. Support alone means Form 13; property means Form 13.1 and the property document list (r. 13).
• Whether you are self-employed or own a business. Business and corporate records are added (guidelines, s. 21).
• Whether you have a mahr or marriage contract. A mahr is listed as a debt by the spouse who owes it and an asset by the spouse owed it; see how a mahr counts in equalization.
• Whether you claim an exclusion. An inheritance or gift from a third person is excluded only if you prove it (FLA, s. 4(3)); our page on property division in Ontario explains how exclusions fit the calculation.
• How close the next event is. The 60, 30 and 40-day update rules in r. 13(12) depend on whether a conference, motion or trial is next.
• Whether you are married. Unmarried partners have no equalization claim, so a support-only statement is usual; see spousal support in Ontario for the support side.

A worked example

For example, imagine a husband in Toronto whose wife has claimed child support, spousal support and equalization. Because property is claimed, he prepares Form 13.1. He attaches his notices of assessment, three years of returns and a letter from his employer. Within 30 days after the statement is due, he serves his bank and RRSP statements nearest the separation date, the property tax assessment for their condominium, a mortgage statement, and a translated valuation of a shop in Tabriz he inherited from his father, with the estate papers to support excluding it. He serves a certificate of financial disclosure listing every document. Two months later, with a case conference coming, he files an update because his statement is now more than 60 days old. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any result.

What mistakes do people make with financial statements?

1. Using the wrong form, Form 13 when property is in issue.
2. Leaving out foreign property or accounts. The rules make no exception for them.
3. Claiming an exclusion without documents to trace the gift or inheritance.
4. Listing the same item twice, for example a mahr as both an asset and a debt.
5. Filing without notices of assessment in a support claim, which the clerk will refuse (r. 13(7)).
6. Forgetting to update before a conference.

What to do this week

1. Download your notices of assessment and tax returns for the last three years.
2. Request statements for every account as of your separation date and your wedding date.
3. List debts, including loans from family, with documents.
4. Collect and translate records for property outside Canada.
5. Note the date of your next court event, so you know when an update is due.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a financial statement for a divorce only?

Financial statements are required for support and property claims. If the only claim is the divorce, the rule 13 requirements for those claims do not apply, though child support arrangements must still be shown to the court.

What is the valuation date?

Usually the date you separated with no reasonable prospect of resuming life together (FLA, s. 4(1)). Values are taken as of the close of business that day.

Do I list debts I owe to relatives?

List every debt you owed on the valuation date, with documents. A debt that is not real or cannot be proved will be challenged.

What if my spouse refuses to give documents?

Ask in writing first. After seven days, the court can order the information and must award costs if a required document is still not served (r. 13(11) and (17)).

Can a separation agreement be undone if my spouse hid assets?

A court can set aside a domestic contract if a party failed to disclose significant assets, debts or other liabilities that existed when it was made (FLA, s. 56(4)).

Is the financial statement the same in every Toronto court?

Yes; the Family Law Rules apply in both the Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Justice. Which court you file in is explained in which Toronto family court handles your case.

Sarbazevatan Law helps clients prepare and review financial disclosure in support and property cases, in English, Persian (Farsi) and French. Call +1 (416) 628-2041 or reach us through the contact page.