Our Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce lawyers handle Vancouver family law disputes and cross-border divorce advice and provide Asian international wealth and overseas asset protection in BC family separation cases. We have several recent successes which set new law on void marriages and Canadian family law records for multimillion-dollar high support and high property awards as well as for special costs. Our founder Lorne MacLean, QC also obtained a rare worldwide family law MAREVA INJUNCTION coupled with a near $90,000 a month combined spousal and child support award and then obtained a record multimillion-dollar support, family property, and special costs award totalling over $25 million and a modified anti-arbitration injunction concerning China.
Due to tremendous demand, we have now opened our Toronto Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce office on King Street in downtown Toronto. Check out our dedicated Toronto Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce website here.
Cross Border International Divorce lawyers
Anyone in a high net worth family law dispute, would ask themselves what they can do to protect themselves if their spouse possesses family assets and riches in Asia and other places across the world?
Our Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce lawyers have been ranked as the top* Vancouver family law firm for 6 of the last 7 years and the last 5 years straight.
At MacLean Law, our Property Restraining Order and Mareva Injunction Lawyers explain how we can help protect your interest in and to all of these local Vancouver, and international Asian properties and investments. Click here to meet with Western Canada’s largest Mandarin and Cantonese speaking family law team.
Vancouver and Toronto Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce Lawyers 中文專線：604 682 6466
In today’s blog, we explain that family law injunctions are discretionary remedies that either restrain or mandate conduct. In a family law context, most injunctions are interlocutory (made before a trial). The Supreme Court of British Columbia has the authority to grant injunctive relief under its inherent jurisdiction and s. 39 of the Law and Equity Act, and it also has jurisdiction in all matters under s. 192 of the Family Law Act.
So how can a BC Judge freeze assets around the World to make sure you are protected against losing your fair share of the family property?
Our skilled Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce lawyers warn a different type of restraining order is needed against worldwide assets. Speed is of the essence when there are large international family property holdings when Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce occurs. You want to prevent these assets from going missing and as the judge said in Lorne MacLean, QC’s recent worldwide Mareva Injunction win you want to find them too:
[64] The requirement for disclosure of assets after the granting of a Mareva injunction was discussed in Sekisui House Kabushiki Kaisha (Sekisui House Co. Ltd.) v. Nagashima (1982), 42 B.C.L.R. 1 (C.A.). The idea is to “breathe some life” into the injunction by requiring a list of assets and their location. In Tracy v. Instaloans Financial Solutions Centres (B.C.) Ltd., 2007 BCCA 481 at paras. 74-75, the Court stated that the purpose of such an affidavit was enforcement of the order and to ensure compliance.
Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce- Property Restraining Order and Mareva Injunction Lawyers
Protection of Property under the Family Law Act<
Section 91 of the Family Law Act provides authority for orders restraining a spouse from disposing of property:
91.(1) On application by a spouse, the Supreme Court must make an order restraining the other spouse from disposing of any property at issue under this Part or Part 6 [Pension Division] until or unless the other spouse establishes that a claim made under this Part or Part 6 will not be defeated or adversely affected by the disposal of the property.
(2) The Supreme Court may make one or more of the following orders:
(a) for the possession, delivery, safekeeping and preservation of property;
(b) for the purpose of protecting the applicant’s interest in property from being defeated or adversely affected,
(i) prohibiting the other spouse from disposing of, transferring, converting, or exchanging into another form, property in which the applicant may have an interest, or
(ii) vesting all or a portion of property in, or in trust for, the applicant.
(3) The Supreme Court may make an order under this section before notice of the application is served on the other spouse, or may order that notice of the application be served on the other spouse.
(4) Despite section 215(2) [changing, suspending or terminating orders generally], the Supreme Court may change, suspend or terminate an order made under this section.
Hire Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce Lawyers Who Act Internationally
However, as stated in Rogic v. Rogic, [1986] BCJ No. 1342 (QL) (SC), a court is unlikely to make an order to restrain a party from disposing of family assets or property at issue when both the party and the property are outside the jurisdiction. Under such circumstances, a Mareva injunction may be the only appropriate remedy instead.
International Divorce and Family Law -Mareva Injunction
The court’s authority to grant a Mareva injunction is founded on its inherent jurisdiction, s. 39 of the Law and Equity Act, and Supreme Court Family Rule 12-4. Our Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce lawyers have obtained Mareva injunctions against assets in Asia including China, Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia.
A Mareva injunction is an extraordinary order named after a seminal case in this area, Mareva Compania Naviera SA v. International Bulkcarriers SA [1975] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 509 (C.A.). It was a civil remedy initially developed by the British courts to prevent defendants from removing assets out of the jurisdiction to defeat the legitimate claims of creditors.
Over time, the Mareva injunction has been adopted and expanded by the Canadian courts not only to prevent the dissipation of assets out of the court’s jurisdiction but also to prevent dissipation of assets that are already out of the court’s jurisdiction. This Mareva injunction has since been granted against worldwide assets in numerous situations by various Canadian courts to freeze both out-of-province Canadian assets, as well as assets outside of Canada.
Vancouver Mandarin High Net Worth Divorce – What To Prove To Get A Mareva Injunction
The applicant for a Mareva injunction must:
- show a strong prima facie case against the respondent;
- show that there is a genuine risk that the assets will disappear either inside or outside the jurisdiction of the court before judgment; and
- give an undertaking in damages.
In recent years, the Court has also summarized additional legal principles in Blue Horizon Energy Inc. v. Ko Yo Development Co., 2012 BCSC 58.
Talk to our top-rated* BC International Wealth and Overseas Asset Protection lawyers to preserve and protect your interest in all the foreign family properties. Dial our Mandarin Line at 中文專線：604 682 6466 or contact us toll-free at 1 877 602 9900 now to see how our dedicated Vancouver family lawyers can help you win your case.
*Top 25 Canadian Lawyers 2020 Lorne MacLean QC, Top Choice Award best family lawyers (2014, 2016, 2017 2018, 2019, 2020), Top rated reviews on Google, Yelp, threebestrated, lawerratingz.com. Read more about our awards.
