Toronto Emergency Property Preservation Order
If you have an urgent family law property issue, where you are worried that your spouse will sell or dissipate property, including the matrimonial home, it is important to seek legal advice and potentially take legal action as soon as possible. This can include bringing an emergency or urgent motion to the court.
The Family Law Rules permit a very limited number of motions to be brought before a case conference and without notice. Generally, the court encourages a case conference, which is a form of a meeting in front of a judge, before motions can be brought in which the judge makes a decision. Judges at case conferences have some powers with respect to property, but in general judges will not make orders at case conferences where there is no agreement. Thus, a motion might be the proper forum to protect property like a matrimonial home.
Even when a motion is required before a case conference, in general, judges prefer that motions are brought on notice to the other party. In simple terms, that means that ideally it is preferred that both parents have a chance to state their case to the judge and file court materials that provide evidence of what each parent wants. However, in some situations that is not practical, such as when there is an imminent risk property will be sold or hidden.
Preventing The Property From Being Sold
If property is sold or hidden, it can be hard to recover. The family law system provides different types of orders that can prevent this from happening, including with respect to the matrimonial home. For example, certificates of pending litigation, preservation orders, and freezing of accounts have various roles in the family law system. Property issues can be extremely complex and it is extra important to satisfy the judge that the property needs to be protected. Various legal tests have developed in these types of cases which the court applies when deciding whether to grant the order sought.
Ensuring that property is preserved can be even more important when you are not on title to the property. In those cases, without a court order, the other party may be able to sell property without your consent unless a court order prevents that. In some situations in a divorce or separation, you may be claiming that you really own property even though your name is not on title. In those situations, explaining your claims properly from the outset can save time, costs, and aggravation down the road.
Contact Our Lawyers Today
It is extremely important that emergency or urgent motions are only brought in appropriate circumstances. Asking the court for an emergency order when the court finds there is no emergency can get you off to a bad start in your case and harm your case. The lawyers at Modern Family Law LLP have over 25 years of combined experience dealing with cases and situations of all kinds. The lawyers at Modern Family Law LLP can help give you tailored guidance as to what the best course of action is in your situation.
Contact Modern Family Law LLP at 647-DIVORCE to get help with emergency court orders to preserve property in your family law or divorce case.
