Married Only in China but Living in Canada — Do You Need Two Divorces? Toronto Chinese Divorce Lawyer: Just One, Pick the Right Place

Married in China, living in Canada now. Property on both sides. Do you need to divorce twice — once in China, once in Canada?

Short answer: once is enough. But where you do it makes a huge difference. Pick the right place first.

If you divorce in China, can the Canadian house be divided there too?

Usually not. In China, Chinese courts generally don’t deal with assets outside China. The judgment usually says it plainly: the Canadian property won’t be dealt with, go sort it out in a Canadian court.

So if you go back to China to divorce, chances are it won’t be finished in one go. Once there’s a dispute later, you’re back in Canada to deal with property division.

If you divorce in Ontario, what happens to the house in China?

Ontario counts net family property. That’s everything under each person’s name — worldwide, all of it.

Obviously an Ontario court can’t fly to China and transfer your title. But Ontario divides property by setting values off against each other.

Say the two of you own a house in China. Its value gets counted into the Ontario picture. The Ontario house was going to be 50/50, but once the China house value is added in, one side’s assets may come out too high. Then the set-off shifts things — the Ontario house might go 70/30 instead of 50/50. That means the China house value has already been accounted for in the Ontario split, and nobody has to go back to the Chinese property bureau to transfer title.

If the China house is in both names, you can talk about whether to sell it and split the money.

Can you divorce in China first, then come back to Ontario to divide the house?

In theory, yes. Ontario won’t refuse — Ontario does equalization of family property. But it’s messy.

After a Chinese divorce, Ontario doesn’t just naturally divide only the Ontario property for you. Ontario has to go through the whole process first: is the Chinese judgment recognized or not. Plus jurisdiction. You have to settle the fight over recognition and jurisdiction before the court even decides which way to go: recognize the Chinese judgment and divide only the Ontario property, or not recognize it and pull everything back to divide again under Ontario rules. That whole round makes the case very, very long.

So — China or Ontario, how do you choose?

Look at where you’ve lived. One year is the key.

One of you in China for a year, the other in Ontario for a year — both courts have jurisdiction, you get to choose.

Both of you in Ontario for over a year — China usually won’t take the case. They’ll go by your main residence being Ontario and send you back here to file.

Both of you in China for over a year — Ontario won’t hear it. You can only file in China.

Property on both sides? Check where you’ve each lived for a year first, then pick where to file. Book an initial consultation (30 minutes, $220+HST). Call 647-930-6688.

This is general legal information only. Not legal advice. No lawyer-client relationship.