Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Family Property cases often involve millions of dollars of worldwide assets. Deciding what court should determine a Vancouver Mandarin overseas family property case is critical. Hiring a top Vancouver international divorce and family law firm pays off. Ensuring your lawyer understands the complex cross border and inter-jurisdictional family law rules is key. Mareva Injunctions and even anti-suit injunctions may be required. Lorne MacLean, QC handles multimillion-dollar divorce cases involving worldwide assets.
Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Family Property Lawyers 604 682 6466
Our Vancouver Mandarin Chinese family property lawyers and Cantonese speaking family asset lawyers regularly handle inter-jurisdictional support and international family property and debt division cases. Our experienced team of Vancouver Mandarin Chinese family property lawyers knows how to deal with complex cases involving large overseas family property holdings. When Mainland Chinese family property or Hong Kong family assets are involved, a coordinated approach involving Vancouver Mandarin Chinese family property leading lawyers inside and outside of BC is often required to lead to success in cases involving our Vancouver Mandarin Overseas Property Lawyers.
MacLean Law has one of the largest Canadian Mandarin Chinese family law departments. family. We also have our own dedicated Chinese language divorce and family law websites. Simplified and Traditional Chinese Language site.
Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Family Property Cases With Overseas Assets are Complex
Our Asian divorce and family law clientele, some of whom have resided in Vancouver all their lives and some of whom are landed immigrants or permanent residents often have significant real property, art, companies, and savings both inside and outside of Vancouver, BC. Often the overseas assets are located in Mainland China in the form of lucrative factories and operating companies that generate large sums of income or in substantial real estate holdings in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in the world. When the stakes are high you cannot afford to make a jurisdictional mistake. As you will see below the rules are confusing and require a number of complex steps to determine jurisdiction that our skilled Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Family Property lawyers can guide you through.
Conflict of Laws and Jurisdiction Involving Overseas Family Property Cases
The first issue that a multi-jurisdictional Chinese family property case may involve, is whether a Vancouver or BC family law judge has or should accept jurisdiction to decide a Mandarin family property division or Cantonese divorce case. You need a top team of skilled Vancouver Mandarin Overseas Property Lawyers from the start to create a strategy for or against a BC Supreme Court Justice deciding British Columbia is the right place to deal with the Vancouver Mandarin Overseas Property dispute.
Our Chinese speaking family lawyers – led by Lorne MacLean, QC, handle numerous high net worth and income interjurisdictional, multijurisdictional and international family law claims. As Vancouver Mandarin and Cantonese speaking family lawyers, we often have to deal with property located mostly in BC or mostly outside BC. These challenges require a coordinated approach that will often involve lawyers in BC, China, Hong Kong and elsewhere to ensure the worldwide property is fairly divided. It may involve the unequal division of property in BC to secure a fair division and spousal and child support to ensure an overseas payor’s obligation is secured.
Conversely, when there is no proper connection by the spouses to BC or most of the family property, income or the spouse’s children have a less secure connection to BC, our courts may not have jurisdiction to decide these Asian high net worth property division cases.
When Will A BC Court Divide Family Property Outside BC For BC Mandarin and Cantonese Speaking Clients?
In many cases, our Mandarin-speaking family law clients have millions of dollars in net worth accumulated through their joint efforts. When the stakes are so high our mandarin speaking Asian high net worth clients want to ensure that the jurisdiction that decides the case is the most appropriate.
Before a Vancouver Supreme Court Justice will take charge of a family property division case involving overseas assets in China or Hong Kong or elsewhere our Mandarin-speaking family law lawyers and Cantonese speaking property division lawyers have to determine if BC has jurisdiction to decide the family property case. Our Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Family Property lawyers will summarize the complex law on the issue of jurisdiction
BC Family Law Act 106(2) provides the rules to help the court here determine when it may make orders dividing that property between those people under Part 5:
(2) Despite any other provision of this Part, the Supreme Court has authority to make an order under this Part only if one of the following conditions is met:
(a) a spouse has started another proceeding in the Supreme Court, to which a proceeding under this Part is a counterclaim;
(b) both spouses submit, either in an agreement or during the proceeding, to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under this Part;
(c) either spouse is habitually resident in British Columbia at the time a proceeding under this Part is started;
(d) there is a real and substantial connection between British Columbia and the facts on which the proceeding under this Part is based.
So What Does Substantial Connection To BC Mean?
Section 106(3) defines substantial connection for purposes of BC assuming control over deciding the case:
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2) (d), a real and substantial connection is presumed to exist if one or more of the following apply:
(a) property that is the subject of the proceeding is located in British Columbia;
(b) the most recent common habitual residence of the spouses was in British Columbia;
(c) a notice of family claim with respect to the spouses has been issued under the Divorce Act (Canada) in British Columbia.
Can A Judge Who Has Technical Jurisdiction To Decide the Case In BC Decline To Do So?
Even after the test for exercising jurisdiction in a Vancouver Mandarin Chinese family property case has been met, the BC Court can still decide to let another judge elsewhere in the world take charge of the case.
The rules for declining to take charge of the case in BC include the following factors:
Section 106(4) says that the court can refuse to make orders for the division of property and debt. Section 106(5) says what the court must take into account in deciding to refuse to make orders:
(5) In determining whether to decline jurisdiction under subsection (4), the court must consider all of the following:
(a) the interests of the spouses;
(b) the relative convenience and expense for the spouses and their witnesses;
(c) if section 108 [choice of law rules] applies, the law to be applied to issues in the proceeding;
(d) the desirability of avoiding multiple proceedings or conflicting decisions in different courts or tribunals;
(e) the extent to which an order respecting property or debt
(i) made in another jurisdiction would be enforceable in British Columbia, and
(ii) made in British Columbia would be enforceable in another jurisdiction;
(f) the fair and efficient working of the Canadian legal system as a whole;
(g) any other circumstances the court considers relevant.
Contact our Asian Wealth Preservation and Asset Protection team 财富和资产保护 – Wealth Protection if you have an issue involving Vancouver Mandarin Chinese family property issues. Our Mandarin and Cantonese speaking family law lawyers are ready to assist you. Call our Mandarin and Cantonese language dedicated receptionist today at 604 682 6466
