Cross-Border Asset Division

The Most Critical Step: Investigate Assets Before You File

This is the most commonly overlooked — and most costly — mistake in cross-border asset cases: filing first, and then watching the other side transfer assets.

Many people assume filing the Statement of Claim is the first step. In cross-border asset cases, it is not. The Statement of Claim is effectively a warning letter — it tells your spouse that proceedings have begun and that assets need to move. Ontario is different from China: Chinese courts can grant pre-trial asset preservation relatively easily, while Ontario freezing orders carry a significantly higher legal threshold and are not available on demand.

Miao He's approach is to conduct a full analysis of all overseas assets — reviewing financial records, assessing division scenarios, and putting protection measures in place — before a single litigation document is drafted. Winning a judgment against an empty estate is not winning. The goal is to ensure there are assets to divide when the time comes.

Case Example: Freezing Order Secured at a Critical Moment

In one case, a freezing order application filed at precisely the right moment preserved assets that were about to be transferred offshore. Had the application been delayed by even a few days, those assets would have been gone. When the legal conditions are met, Miao He moves immediately and without hesitation. A court order you cannot enforce is worthless — securing the asset comes first.

Your Agreement May Be Unenforceable — If It Only Lists Canadian Property

This is a legal landmine that many Chinese-Canadian families do not see until it is too late.

Many people spend time and money on marriage contracts, cohabitation agreements, or separation agreements that list only Canadian assets — saying nothing about Chinese real estate, overseas accounts, or foreign shareholdings. These agreements carry a serious risk of being found invalid.

The reason: Ontario family law requires complete financial disclosure in all domestic contracts. If overseas assets were deliberately excluded, or if neither party disclosed them at all, a court may find the disclosure insufficient and void part or all of the agreement. An agreement that looks solid on paper may provide no protection at all at the moment it matters most.

When Miao He drafts any domestic contract, she requires both parties to fully disclose all global assets — ensuring the agreement will withstand scrutiny when it is actually needed.

The Real Purpose of Tracing Overseas Assets: Influencing Ontario Property Division

Many Chinese-Canadian clients assume: "I can't recover assets from China through Canadian courts — so why bother?" This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the cross-border asset mechanism actually works.

Ontario family law calculates equalization using Global Net Family Property — all assets worldwide, not only those located in Canada. This means:

• Chinese pre-marital real estate, though excluded from division under Chinese law, still affects the net family property calculation baseline under Ontario law
• Overseas accounts, shareholdings, and business interests must all be included in the Net Family Property calculation
• If one spouse has concealed significant overseas assets, the other can use a complete global net family property calculation to receive additional compensation through Ontario property division

In other words: tracing overseas assets is not necessarily about enforcing a judgment in China — it is about using the global net family property calculation to shift the Ontario property division in your favour. For example, if one spouse holds substantial pre-marital assets in China that are not subject to division under Chinese law, those assets are still factored into the Ontario equalization calculation — which may entitle the other spouse to more than half of the Canadian property as a result.

This is a sophisticated and significantly underutilized legal mechanism. Applying it correctly requires a lawyer who genuinely understands both the Chinese and Canadian legal systems — not just one of them.

The Dual-Licence Advantage

Holding both an Ontario and China bar licence, Miao He does not need to rely on intermediaries to understand Chinese law — she applies both systems directly. This matters at the moments that count most: when to investigate, when to apply for a freezing order, how to structure an agreement that protects overseas assets, and how to use the global net family property mechanism to maximize your position.

In addition, Miao He has been retained by Ontario courts to provide expert witness opinions on Chinese marriage law and property law. This credential is directly relevant in cases involving Chinese pre-marital property, gifts, inheritance, and the legal characterization of overseas assets — and it is held by very few lawyers in the Greater Toronto Area.