Money or assets moved to Iran before separation: what can an Ontario court do?

An Ontario court can order your spouse to disclose every transfer, stop further depletion while the case goes on, and count any property your spouse still owns, wherever it is. If your spouse intentionally or recklessly depleted their net family property, the court may award you more than half of the difference, but only where an equal split would be unconscionable.

This page explains Ontario and Canadian law only. It does not cover Iranian law: what can be done about the money or property inside Iran is a question for a lawyer in Iran.

Many Iranian-Canadian families hold accounts, property or family ties in both countries, and moving money between them is normal. The worry starts when a large sum leaves without a word shortly before the separation: to the spouse's own account in Iran, to a brother's name, or into a property there. It can feel as if money that has left Canada is gone for good. Ontario's Family Law Act has several tools for exactly this situation. The general system is explained on our page on property division in Ontario. This page is one of our guides for Iranian-Canadian families in Toronto.

If money has gone to Iran, what can you do, step by step?

1. Record what you know. Write down the date, amount, sending account and recipient of each transfer, and keep copies of any statements you can lawfully access yourself.
2. Start the claim in the right court. An equalization claim is made by application under section 7 of the Family Law Act. For this part of the Act, "court" does not include the Ontario Court of Justice (s. 4(1)), so the claim goes to the Superior Court of Justice or its Family Court branch. In Toronto, that is the Superior Court family court at 361 University Avenue.
3. Exchange financial disclosure. Each party serves and files a financial statement in Form 13.1 when there is a property claim (Family Law Rules, r. 13(1) and (1.2)). The sworn statement of property must disclose all property the party disposed of during the two years before the statement, or during the marriage, whichever is shorter (Family Law Act, s. 8(d)).
4. Ask for more in writing. If the disclosure is not enough, make a written request; if the information is not given within seven days, the court can order it (r. 13(11)). Questioning a party on their financial statement is allowed only after that written request (r. 13(13)).
5. Ask for urgent protection if needed. Motions are usually heard only after a case conference on the substantive issues, unless the court finds urgency or hardship (r. 14(4) and (4.2)). In that situation you can ask early for an order preserving property (Family Law Act, s. 12).
6. The final decision. The court calculates each spouse's net family property, decides whether an unequal share is justified, and can order payment, security or a transfer of property (ss. 5(6) and 9(1)).

Which Ontario tools apply in which situation?

FLA means the Family Law Act; FLR means the Family Law Rules, O. Reg. 114/99, in the current consolidation.

Why does it matter whether the money moved before or after separation?

Each spouse's net family property is based on the property that spouse owns on the valuation date. For most couples that is the date they separated with no reasonable prospect of resuming cohabitation, although the Act lists other dates that apply if they come first (s. 4(1)). Money moved after that date is still counted in your spouse's net family property, because they owned it on the valuation date. The practical problem is collecting your share, which is where preservation orders and security matter.

Money that left before the valuation date and no longer belongs to your spouse does not appear in their net family property at all. That is why the law gives you two other routes: the duty to disclose property disposed of in the sworn statement of property (s. 8(d)), and the court's power to award an unequal share for intentional or reckless depletion (s. 5(6)(d)). If the money went to your spouse's own account in Iran, or bought property in their own name there, it still belongs to them and is counted. How property in Iran is valued is covered in our guide to whether property in Iran counts in an Ontario equalization.

When will the court award you more than half?

The basic rule is that the spouse with the lower net family property receives half the difference between the two (s. 5(1)). The court can award more or less than half only if it is of the opinion that equalizing would be unconscionable, having regard to the factors in section 5(6). One of those factors is "a spouse's intentional or reckless depletion of his or her net family property" (s. 5(6)(d)). Another is that debts claimed to reduce a spouse's net family property were incurred recklessly or in bad faith (s. 5(6)(b)).

Not every transfer is depletion. Sending money for parents' living costs, or making an investment you both knew about, may look very different to a court from a secret transfer a few weeks before the separation. The court decides on the evidence: dates, amounts, recipients, and what your spouse says in their own statement of property. If your spouse says the money was a loan to a relative, the court will look at the evidence of what was actually agreed and whether the loan is real.

Can the court stop further transfers?

Yes. In an equalization claim or a claim about ownership of property, if the court considers it necessary to protect your interests, it can make an interim or final order restraining the depletion of your spouse's property and for the possession, delivering up, safekeeping and preservation of property (s. 12). Section 40 separately lets the court restrain the depletion of a spouse's property that would impair or defeat a claim for support, which includes child support; our page on spousal support explains the support claim itself.

If you fear that warning your spouse would itself trigger another transfer, the Family Law Rules allow a motion without notice where service of a notice of motion would probably have serious consequences (r. 14(12)(d)). An order made that way must return to court within 14 days or on a date the court sets (r. 14(14)). Our guide to when you can go to family court urgently explains how urgent motions work. If the plan is to sell or mortgage the family home to send money abroad, read whether a spouse can sell or mortgage the family home without consent.

What if your spouse hides information?

Disclosure is not a one-time form. As soon as a party discovers that a document they served is incorrect, incomplete or out of date, they must serve a corrected one (r. 13(15)). If a party does not serve or file a required document, the court can order them to do so and, if it makes that order, must also order costs (r. 13(17)). If a party then fails to obey an order, the court can impose costs, a penalty or fine, strike out their documents, bar them from using documents they did not provide, or refuse them further orders without the court's permission (r. 1(8)). The forms and attachments are explained in our guide to which financial statement to file.

What changes the answer?

• When the transfer happened. Before or after the valuation date (s. 4(1)).
• Who owns the money now. If your spouse still has an interest in it, even in another person's name, it may still be their property; "property" in the Act means "any interest, present or future, vested or contingent" (s. 4(1)). You would have to prove that interest.
• Intentional or reckless, or not. An unequal share requires intentional or reckless depletion and an equal split that would be unconscionable (s. 5(6)).
• Whether you still live together. Section 5(3) applies only to spouses who are still cohabiting, and after an order under it neither spouse can apply again for that marriage (s. 5(4)).
• The kind of claim. Section 12 protects property claims; section 40 protects support claims.
• The deadline. An equalization claim must be brought by the earliest of two years after a divorce and six years after separation (s. 7(3)); see the deadlines in an Ontario family case.

A worked example

For example, imagine Maryam and Reza, who live in North York. In March 2025 Reza sends $120,000 from a savings account in his own name to his brother's account in Iran and says nothing to Maryam. In June 2025 they separate, and a few weeks later Maryam finds out about the transfer. In his financial statement, Reza says the money was a loan to his brother.

Maryam's lawyer asks in writing for the loan documents. No answer comes within seven days, so she asks the court for a disclosure order. If the records show the money bought an apartment in which Reza still has an interest, the value of that interest may be counted in his net family property. If the records show the money is truly gone, Maryam can ask the court to award her more than half because of intentional depletion, arguing that an equal split would be unconscionable. Because Reza also has an investment account in Canada, Maryam can ask for an order preserving it while the case continues. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any result.

What mistakes do people make?

1. Moving money in response. Taking or transferring money yourself may bring the same section 5(6) factors to bear on you.
2. Assuming money in Iran is beyond an Ontario court. Property your spouse still owns is counted wherever it is, and depletion can affect your share.
3. Going to court without a written request. A disclosure order and questioning on a financial statement follow a written request (r. 13(11) and (13)).
4. Accusing without evidence. The court looks at dates, amounts and recipients, not suspicion.
5. Waiting. Every month is a chance for another transfer, and the limitation period keeps running.

What to do this week

1. Copy any account statements you can lawfully access yourself.
2. List each transfer you know of: date, amount, from which account, and to whom.
3. Note your date of separation and place each transfer before or after it.
4. Do not move money yourself.
5. If another transfer seems imminent, talk to a lawyer about an urgent motion.
6. If your Iranian marriage certificate includes a half-of-assets condition, read how Iranian marriage certificate conditions are treated in Ontario.

Frequently asked questions

What if the money was put in his brother's or father's name in Iran?

The registered name does not always decide it, because "property" in the Family Law Act includes any interest in property (s. 4(1)). But you would need evidence that your spouse still has an interest in it.

We still live together and money is leaving. What can I do?

If there is a serious danger that your spouse may improvidently deplete their net family property, you can apply to have the difference divided as if you had separated (s. 5(3)). After such an order, neither of you can make another equalization application for that marriage (s. 5(4)).

How far back does the statement of property go?

It must list property disposed of during the two years before the statement, or during the marriage if that is shorter (s. 8(d)). For older transfers you can make a written request for information (r. 13(11)).

Do these tools help with child support too?

Section 40 protects claims for support under Part III of the Family Law Act, which includes child support. For the support claim itself, see our page on child support in Ontario.

What if I found out about the transfer too late?

The court can extend a time limit in the Act, but only if there are apparent grounds for relief, the delay was in good faith, and no one will suffer substantial prejudice (s. 2(8)). It is safer not to rely on an extension.

Can the Ontario court enforce its order against property in Iran?

An Ontario order can be enforced against property in Ontario, for example through security or a charge on property (s. 9(1)). Whether it can be enforced in Iran is a question of Iranian law, which this page does not cover.

Sarbazevatan Law acts for spouses in property division cases involving money or assets moved to Iran, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call +1 (416) 628-2041 or reach us through the contact page.