Ontario courts do not have the jurisdiction to make orders against foreign immovable property[1]. This principle is often conflated with the obligation to include assets located outside of Ontario in the calculation of net family property, such that foreign assets are left out of the equation.
Pursuant to the Family Law Act, property is broadly defined as “any interest, present or future, vested or contingent, in real or personal property.” This definition easily captures assets outside of Ontario.
Equalization does not call for assets themselves to be divided between spouses – only their value. Accordingly, there is no jurisdictional obstacle insofar as including foreign assets in the calculation of one’s net family property.
[1] Jung v. Jung, 2016 ONSC 3020 (CanLII) at para. 18