Financial abuse is a serious matter and is recognized in Ontario as a form of family violence. Because it is not talked about as often as other forms of abuse, it can be hard to determine whether you have experienced it.
Financial abuse may affect relationships between grandparents, parents, children or romantic partners. It encompasses a range of behaviours aimed at exerting control over financial resources, assets, and decision-making processes. During a separation or divorce, this conduct can interfere with a person’s independence, access to legal representation, financial disclosure, property rights, and their ability to pursue child support or spousal support.
Financial abuse does not always involve taking money directly. It may also involve:
- Controlling access to bank accounts
- Preventing a partner from working
- Creating debt in their name
- Concealing assets
- Using the cost of family law proceedings as a means of pressure
- And more
The federal government’s guidance on family violence and divorce recognizes financial abuse as conduct that can form part of a broader pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.
If you believe you may be experiencing financial abuse during your separation or divorce in Ontario, an experienced family lawyer can help clarify your legal rights and ensure you maintain control of your finances when it counts the most. Contact our Toronto divorce lawyers at Gelman and Associates today to discuss your situation in a private, confidential, and free consultation.
Key Takeaways: Financial Abuse and Its Impact on Separation and Divorce
- Financial abuse can include restricting access to money, interfering with employment, hiding financial information, creating unauthorized debt or withholding support.
- The federal Divorce Act expressly includes financial abuse within its definition of family violence.
- Financial abuse may continue or escalate after separation, particularly through withheld funds, hidden assets, support arrears, or unnecessary legal proceedings that get drawn out for unreasonable amounts of time.
- Complete and accurate financial disclosure is essential when resolving property division, child support, and spousal support issues in Ontario.
- Evidence of financial abuse may be relevant to parenting arrangements when it affects a child’s safety, stability, or well-being.
- Financial abuse does not automatically result in an unequal division of net family property. The available remedy depends on the evidence, the legal claim and the specific circumstances.
- Anyone facing financial abuse should consider obtaining legal advice and creating a safety plan before confronting the other person or changing access to significant assets.
What Is Financial Abuse?
Financial abuse occurs when one person uses money, property, debt, or access to financial information to control or exploit another person. Although financial abuse can affect older adults, including situations involving the misuse of a power of attorney, it may also play a significant role in relationships between partners and spouses.
Financial abuse is normally intended to weaken the autonomy and independence of the targeted person. The person engaging in the conduct may limit their partner’s access to joint financial resources, closely monitor every purchase, prevent them from earning their own money, or deny them basic information about family finances.
The Department of Justice Canada identifies examples such as denying a spouse access to a bank account or paycheque and preventing them from working. Other conduct may include forcing someone to work, controlling how their income is spent, or incurring debts in their name without their knowledge.
As a result, when an individual wishes to separate or divorce from a financially abusive partner, the process can become much more complicated, stressful, and potentially dangerous. They may not know what the family owns, have funds available for housing or legal fees, or possess the documents needed to assess their rights.
A Toronto family lawyer can help identify the financial issues that may need to be addressed and explain what legal options may be available if you believe you are facing this type of abuse.
Signs of Financial Abuse
How can you tell if a person is committing financial abuse? The surrounding circumstances and the effect of the conduct matter. Financially abusive behaviours you may want to take into account include:
- Taking all or most of the money from a joint account without telling you or withholding funds needed for regular, everyday expenses.
- Giving away, selling, or transferring joint money, property or possessions without your consent.
- Hiding bank accounts, investments, cryptocurrency, business income, or other assets.
- Pressuring you to sign a marriage contract, separation agreement, loan, mortgage, or other important financial document against your will or through coercion.
- Forging signatures or applying for loans and credit cards in your name without your consent.
- Preventing or discouraging you from getting a job, attending school, or earning your own money to keep you financially dependent on them.
- Taking your paycheque, benefits or government payments without your knowledge or permission.
- Requiring you to account for every purchase while refusing to disclose their own spending.
- Deliberately damaging your credit rating.
- Refusing to provide financial records needed to calculate child support, spousal support, or lawful property division.
- Withholding court-ordered or agreed-upon child support or spousal support.
- Using repeated or unnecessary legal proceedings to exhaust your person’s financial resources when you initiate a separation or divorce.
- And possibly more.
Financial abuse frequently forms part of a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. However, it is important not to assume that only conduct occurring over an extended period can be relevant. Under the Divorce Act, family violence may include threatening conduct, a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour, or conduct that causes a family member to fear for their safety or someone else’s safety.
Maintaining a secure and detailed record of concerning actions your partner has taken may help establish what occurred. Depending on the circumstances, relevant evidence could include bank statements, emails, text messages, loan applications, credit reports, tax returns, account alerts, photographs of documents and records of missed support payments.
Evidence should be collected lawfully and safely. A person should not access an account, device, or record they are not legally entitled to use. A family lawyer can advise on appropriate methods of seeking documents through the financial disclosure process.
How Does Canada’s Divorce Act Address Financial Abuse?
The Divorce Act governs divorce proceedings across Canada. Amendments that came into force on March 1, 2021 expressly incorporated family violence into the legislation’s parenting framework.
The definition of family violence in the Divorce Act includes financial abuse. The conduct does not need to constitute a criminal offence to qualify as family violence under the Act.
This recognition is important because financial abuse can continue after separation or divorce. A former partner may withhold support, interfere with access to accounts, hide income, dispose of assets, or use financial pressure to influence parenting and settlement decisions. Federal family-violence guidance also cautions that coercive and controlling behaviour may continue or escalate after separation.
When making a parenting order, a court must consider only the best interests of the child. Section 16 of the Divorce Act requires the court to consider family violence and factors such as:
- The nature, seriousness and frequency of the conduct
- Whether there is a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour
- Whether the child was directly or indirectly exposed to the conduct
- The risk of physical, emotional or psychological harm
- Whether the conduct compromises the safety of the child or another family member
- Whether the people involved can safely communicate and cooperate on issues affecting the child
Financial abuse will not determine a parenting case on its own. Its relevance depends on how the conduct affects the child, the child’s caregiver, household stability, and the parties’ ability to make child-focused decisions.
The changes to the Divorce Act may apply to current proceedings even when some of the underlying conduct occurred before March 1, 2021. A Toronto child custody and access lawyer can explain how allegations of family violence may be addressed under the current best-interests framework.
How Can Financial Abuse Affect Your Separation Or Divorce?
Financial abuse can play a significant role in separation or divorce, especially when there are children, complex assets, a family business, or a substantial income imbalance.
Financial Disclosure And Hidden Assets
Both parties generally need reliable financial information to resolve child support, spousal support, and property claims. Ontario’s financial disclosure procedures require parties to provide full and true information about income, expenses, assets and debts.
Depending on the claims being made, disclosure may include income tax returns, notices of assessment, pay records, bank and investment statements, pension information, corporate records, property valuations, and debt statements. A person may also need to complete a Financial Statement, such as Form 13 or Form 13.1, and a Certificate of Financial Disclosure.
A financially abusive spouse may provide incomplete records, undervalue assets, divert business income, or claim that documents are unavailable. When disclosure is missing, a lawyer may request additional records, seek disclosure from another person or institution where legally appropriate, or ask the court to make a disclosure order. In some cases, the court may also impose costs or other consequences for failing to comply with disclosure obligations.
Someone who suspects concealed property can learn more about finding hidden assets during divorce on our website.
Financial Abuse in Child And Spousal Support
Financial abuse after separation may include paying child support or spousal support incorrectly, inconsistently, or not at all. It may also involve hiding income, voluntarily reducing earnings, redirecting business revenue, or refusing to contribute to a child’s special or extraordinary expenses.
A support obligation should not be withheld as leverage in a parenting or property dispute. In Ontario, support orders are generally filed with the Family Responsibility Office, which can take enforcement steps when payments fall into arrears.
The legal and factual issues differ between child support and spousal support. Accurate income information is therefore critical to assessing the amount that may be payable.
Debt And Property Division
Financial abuse may affect property division when one spouse incurs debts without the other spouse’s knowledge, recklessly depletes family assets, or transfers property to prevent it from being included in the equalization calculation.
Ontario’s Family Law Act generally uses an equalization of net family property system for married spouses. Each spouse’s assets and debts are assessed according to the statutory framework, and the spouse with the higher net family property may owe an equalization payment.
Financial misconduct does not automatically result in an unequal division. A court may order an unequal equalization payment only where equalizing net family properties would be unconscionable, having regard to the factors listed in section 5(6) of the Family Law Act. Those factors include the intentional or reckless depletion of net family property and debts incurred recklessly or in bad faith.
The threshold is demanding and depends heavily on the evidence. Anyone concerned about unauthorized debt, missing property, or asset depletion should obtain advice from a Toronto property division lawyer before agreeing to a settlement.
Different property rules generally apply to unmarried common-law partners. Common-law partners do not automatically participate in the Family Law Act equalization regime, although other claims may be available.
Access To The Matrimonial Home
A financially abusive spouse may threaten to change the locks, stop paying household expenses, or pressure the other spouse to leave the matrimonial home.
Married spouses generally have an equal right to possess a matrimonial home unless a separation agreement or court order provides otherwise. In appropriate cases, a court may grant one spouse exclusive possession. This does not decide ownership of the property. It determines who may occupy the home for a particular period.
The court considers several statutory factors, including the best interests of affected children, existing property and support arrangements, the parties’ financial positions, other suitable accommodation, and any violence committed against a spouse or child.
Because matrimonial-home rights are highly fact-specific, a spouse should obtain legal advice before moving out, changing locks, or signing any documents concerning the home. More information is available from our Toronto matrimonial home lawyers.
Access To Legal Representation
A person experiencing financial abuse may not have access to the funds needed to retain a lawyer, obtain a property valuation, or respond to court proceedings.
Depending on the circumstances, a lawyer may consider whether it is appropriate to seek preservation of property, an advance or interim disbursement, temporary support, costs, or another form of interim relief. These remedies are not automatic. The court will consider the applicable legal test, the available evidence, and the parties’ financial circumstances before coming to a decision.
Financial pressure can also be created through repeated, unnecessary, or disproportionate litigation. This may be especially common when the financially abusive spouse has a significantly higher income. Where court procedures are being used primarily to cause expense, delay, or intimidation, the conduct may resemble litigation abuse.
What To Do If You Are Experiencing Financial Abuse
There are actions you may be able to take to protect yourself from financial abuse. The appropriate steps will depend on your safety, your legal rights, and whether separation has already occurred.
Put Your Safety First
Do not confront an abusive partner about money, hidden assets, or separation if doing so could place you or a child at risk. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or your local police.
Ontario provides confidential supports for survivors of violence, including helplines, emergency shelters and community services. If another person may be monitoring your phone or computer, use a safer device where possible and review Ontario’s guidance on hiding internet activity.
Legal planning and safety planning often need to happen together. Our Toronto domestic violence lawyers can help clients understand family law options involving safety, parenting arrangements, support and the matrimonial home.
Secure Important Documents
If it is safe and lawful to do so, consider making copies of important documents and keeping them in a secure location that the other person cannot access them. Relevant documents may include:
- Identification, passports and immigration documents
- Bank and credit card statements
- Mortgage and line-of-credit records
- Tax returns and notices of assessment
- Pay records and employment information
- Pension, RRSP, TFSA and investment statements
- Corporate or business records
- Insurance policies
- Property deeds and vehicle ownership documents
- Marriage contracts, cohabitation agreements or other domestic contracts
- Existing court orders and separation agreements
Avoid removing or destroying original documents that belong jointly to the family or another person. Copies are often sufficient for an initial consultation with a family lawyer.
Review Your Credit And Accounts
Consider reviewing your credit report for accounts or debts you do not recognize. You may also wish to update passwords and security questions on accounts that belong solely to you.
Before withdrawing substantial funds, closing joint accounts or transferring assets, speak with a family lawyer. Even where a person has authority to access an account, significant transactions made around separation may later require explanation.
Document The Conduct
Keep a chronological record of significant incidents, including the date, what occurred, the amount involved, any witnesses, and the effect on you or the children. Save relevant communications and account records in a secure location.
A record should be factual and specific. For example, recording that a scheduled support payment of a particular amount was missed is generally more useful than simply writing that the other person is financially controlling.
Obtain Legal Advice Before Signing Anything You Do Not Understand
Do not sign a marriage contract, separation agreement, transfer, loan, or refinancing document that you do not understand or have been pressured to accept.
Each party should have the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice before signing an agreement that affects property, support, or other long-term family law rights. Independent legal advice can help identify missing disclosure, unfair pressure and terms that may have serious future consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions About Financial Abuse And Divorce
Is Financial Abuse A Crime In Ontario?
Financial abuse is not a single, stand-alone criminal offence. However, particular conduct may amount to a criminal offence, such as fraud, theft, forgery, extortion, identity fraud, or criminal harassment.
Financial abuse can also qualify as family violence under the Divorce Act even when the conduct is not criminal. Family and criminal proceedings involve different legal tests and possible remedies. This means that even if a spouse is not found criminally responsible for financial abuse, they can still be held legally accountable within family court when it comes to support, custody, access, property division, and more.
Does Financial Abuse Need To Involve A Pattern Of Conduct?
Not in every case. A pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour is one way conduct may meet the Divorce Act definition of family violence. The definition can also include violent or threatening conduct or behaviour that causes a family member to fear for their safety or someone else’s safety.
In practice, a documented pattern can help a court understand the context, purpose and cumulative effect of financial control.
Can I Open My Own Bank Account Before Separating?
A person can generally open an account in their own name. However, transferring joint funds or making large withdrawals may have legal and practical consequences.
Before moving significant money, consider obtaining legal advice. A lawyer can help assess immediate living expenses, disclosure obligations and whether temporary court relief may be appropriate.
What If My Spouse Controls All Of Our Financial Records?
A lack of access to records does not necessarily prevent you from pursuing support or property claims. Ontario’s family court process provides mechanisms for requesting financial disclosure and, where necessary, seeking a disclosure order.
Bring whatever information you can safely obtain to your lawyer, even if it is incomplete. Account numbers, institution names, tax documents, and historical statements can help identify what additional records may be needed.
Can Financial Abuse Affect Parenting Arrangements?
It can, particularly when the conduct affects a child’s safety, stability, or well-being. A court may consider whether financial control forms part of coercive and controlling family violence, whether the child has been exposed to it and whether it affects the parents’ ability to communicate and cooperate safely.
Parenting decisions are always based on the child’s best interests rather than on punishing either parent.
Can A Court Give Me More Property Because Of Financial Abuse?
Not automatically. Ontario courts normally apply the equalization provisions of the Family Law Act. A court may order unequal equalization only where equal division would be unconscionable after considering the statutory factors.
Evidence that a spouse intentionally depleted assets or incurred debts recklessly or in bad faith may be relevant, but the result depends on the particular facts and legal test.
What Can I Do If My Former Partner Refuses To Pay Support?
If there is an enforceable support order, the Family Responsibility Office may take steps to collect arrears. Enforcement options can include income deductions and other measures authorized by Ontario law.
Where there is no order or enforceable agreement, legal steps may first be required to establish support. A family lawyer can also advise whether updated income disclosure or a change to an existing order is necessary.
Can Financial Abuse Continue After Separation?
Yes. Examples may include withholding child support or spousal support that has been ordered, refusing disclosure, hiding income, creating debts, interfering with access to property, or using repeated legal proceedings to exhaust the other person’s resources.
Keeping accurate records and obtaining legal advice early can help identify the most appropriate response.
Should I Try Mediation In A Financial Abuse Case?
Mediation may be suitable for some separating couples, but it is not appropriate in every case. Concerns may arise when there is intimidation, unequal access to information, an inability to negotiate freely, or an ongoing risk to safety.
A family lawyer can help assess whether family mediation, lawyer-assisted negotiation, arbitration or court proceedings are more appropriate. Any dispute-resolution process should include suitable safeguards and meaningful financial disclosure.
Schedule A Consultation With Our Toronto Family Lawyers
Escaping the cycle of abuse can be challenging, especially when separation, divorce, financial uncertainty, and children are involved. If you require assistance navigating a separation from a financially abusive partner, obtaining accurate financial disclosure, or accessing withheld resources, our family law lawyers at Gelman & Associates may be able to help.
Our team assists clients in Toronto and throughout Ontario with divorce, parenting arrangements, support, property division, domestic violence, and other urgent family law concerns.
Contact Gelman & Associates at 1-844-736-0200 or schedule a confidential consultation with our legal team for free today.
Disclaimer: For specific legal advice about your family law matter, please consult a family law lawyer. The content in this article is not intended to act as legal advice and is instead intended to provide a general overview of a legal topic.
