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A New Exception to Recognition of Foreign Divorce for Intimate Partner Violence
By Rebecca Winninger, Senior Associate Research Lawyer, Lam Family Law*
In Amerakoon v. Widyalankara, 2026 ONSC 4428 (CanLII), Justice Finlayson recognized a new defence to recognition of a foreign divorce, based on intimate partner violence (“IPV”). Before turning to the new defence, I begin with some background on the recognition of foreign divorce, and the evolution of the law in this area over the past few years.
In May 2024, I wrote a blog post on a then-new defence to recognition of a foreign divorce: the defence of “unfair forum shopping” which the Court of Appeal for Ontario (“ONCA”) created in Vyazemskaya v. Safin, 2024 ONCA 156 (CanLII). In that post, I outlined why there is so much litigation about the validity of foreign divorces: a spouse divorced in another country cannot claim spousal support in Ontario under either the Divorce Act or Ontario’s Family Law Act (“FLA”). As a result, a party seeking spousal support must first challenge the validity of the foreign divorce.
Blog Categories
► Appeals (6)
- The Newest Addition to the Family: The Tort of Intimate Partner Violence
- The Standard of Review in Family Law Appeals
- Appealing an Interim Order to the Divisional Court, Part 2: Steps, Materials, and Deadlines
- Appealing an Interim Order to the Divisional Court, Part 1: The Test for Leave to Appeal
- Starting an Appeal: Timeline and Getting an Extension of Time
- Appeal vs. Variation: What to Do When Circumstances Change After Trial
► Back to Basics (3)
► Child Support (6)
- In Bounds or Out of Play: When are the Costs of Competitive Sports a Legitimate Section 7 Expense?
- Enforcing Annual Adjustments in Child Support Orders
- When are Cell Phones S. 7 Expenses?
- How to Prove it: What Evidence is Needed to Show Reasonable Health Needs Justify Under/Unemployment?
- Does a Child Support Order Automatically Bind the Estate of the Payor? Yes, If Made Under the Family Law Act ; No, If Made Under the Divorce Act
- Imputation of Income: Debunking the Minimum Wage Myth
► Costs (2)
► Domestic Contracts or Agreements (3)
- Make Up, Break Up: What Happens to a Domestic Contract When Parties Reconcile and Separate Again?
- When the Divorce Act Doesn’t Apply to Married and Divorced Spouses: Know the Exceptions!
- An Update on Torgersrud v. Lightstone and the “High Threshold” for Ousting Equalization in a Foreign or Out-of-Province Marriage Contract
► Enforcement (5)
► Family Violence (8)
- A New Exception to Recognition of Foreign Divorce for Intimate Partner Violence
- What Keeps Me Up at Night and What Keeps Me in Family Law
- A New Legal Era: How the New Tort of IPV is Already Impacting the Practice of Family Law
- The Newest Addition to the Family: The Tort of Intimate Partner Violence
- Top Ontario Family Law Cases of 2025 (So Far): Speed Reads
- Proceed With Caution: The Reluctance and Risks of Surreptitious Recordings in Family Law Proceedings
- Delay Due to “Lack of Emotional Means” Does Not Bar a Claim for Spousal Support
- ONCA Finds No Tort of Family Violence: Where Does that Leave Tort Claims in Family Law Cases Now?
► Foreign Orders or Agreements (5)
- A New Exception to Recognition of Foreign Divorce for Intimate Partner Violence
- When the Divorce Act Doesn’t Apply to Married and Divorced Spouses: Know the Exceptions!
- Top Ontario Family Law Cases of 2025 (So Far): Speed Reads
- “Unfair Forum Shopping”: A New Defence to Recognition of a Foreign Divorce
- An Update on Torgersrud v. Lightstone and the “High Threshold” for Ousting Equalization in a Foreign or Out-of-Province Marriage Contract
► Other (11)
- What Keeps Me Up at Night and What Keeps Me in Family Law
- Bad Behaviour: Ontario Updates on Vexatious Litigants and Litigation Abuse
- How School Absenteeism Influences Parenting Decisions
- The Newest Addition to the Family: The Tort of Intimate Partner Violence
- Whose Plan Is It Anyway? Recent Case Law Clarifies the Treatment of RESPs
- Treat Yourself! But Remember, It’s Not a “Third-Party Gift” if You Paid for It
- Key 2025 Child Protection Cases
- Security for Costs: When Will a Court Require a Party to Provide Financial Security Before The Claims Are Decided?
- The Treatment of RRSP Withdrawals in Determining Income for Child Support Purposes: Why the ‘Why’ Matters
- Open Court, Private Lives: The Balancing Act in Family Law
- Introducing: Lam Family Law’s Newsletter!
► Parenting (9)
- Cleared for Takeoff: Travel-Related Orders in Family Law
- Kayleigh Pink Recently Published in Law360 Canada With Article: Stay the course or explain the deviation: Reasons required for judicial departure from AFCC-O Guide
- Non-Disparagement Clauses in Ontario Parenting Orders
- Top Ontario Family Law Cases of 2025 (So Far): Speed Reads
- "Two Households, Both Alike in Dignity": Parenting Time and Day-to-Day Parenting Decisions
- Disability and Parenting Orders Under the Divorce Act: Adult Children Presumed Capable of Decision-Making and Entitled to Be Heard
- Choice of School Motions:
Overview and Private vs. Public - Judicial Reliance on the AFCC-O Parenting Plan Guide
- Best Interests of the Indigenous Child, and Irrelevant Factors for Determining Urban v. Reserve Residence
► Procedure/Evidence (10)
- Bad Behaviour: Ontario Updates on Vexatious Litigants and Litigation Abuse
- Open Court, Private Lives: The Balancing Act in Family Law
- Proceed With Caution: The Reluctance and Risks of Surreptitious Recordings in Family Law Proceedings
- Starting an Appeal: Timeline and Getting an Extension of Time
- Setting Aside a Default Order or an Order Noting a Party in Default in Family Law
- Vexatious Litigant Orders in Ontario Family Law
- ONCA Confirms Enforcement of a Final Order Does Not Require a New Proceeding
- Costs Following a Conference are Mandatory in Certain Circumstances (and Can be Substantial)
- How to Prove it: What Evidence is Needed to Show Reasonable Health Needs Justify Under/Unemployment?
- Appeal vs. Variation: What to Do When Circumstances Change After Trial
► Property (11)
- Back to Basics: Property Division in Ontario
- When Liabilities Aren’t Set in Stone: How Ontario Courts Handle Contingent Liabilities in Determining Equalization of Net Family Property
- Gifts or Loans? Decoding the Intent Behind Parental Generosity
- From Non Chhom v. Green to Today: Navigating Occupation Rent Claims in Ontario
- How a Non-Titled Common Law Spouse May Obtain Interim Possession to their Spouse’s Solely Owned Property
- Uncertainty in the Resulting Trust Analysis: What is the Effect of an Intention to Avoid a Merger under the Planning Act?
- Bare Trusts: What Are They, and How Are They Relevant in Family Law?
- A Successful Unjust Enrichment Claim Between Married Spouses: Mullin v Sherlock, 2023 ONSC 4769
- An Update on Resulting Trust Claims in the Context of Creditor-Proofing
- An Update on Torgersrud v. Lightstone and the “High Threshold” for Ousting Equalization in a Foreign or Out-of-Province Marriage Contract
- Married Spouses and Equitable Claims: Recent ONCA Decision Narrows Availability of Proprietary Estoppel in Family Cases
► Spousal Support (5)
- Back to Basics: Interim Spousal Support Orders in Ontario
- Top Ontario Family Law Cases of 2025 (So Far): Speed Reads
- How to Prove it: What Evidence is Needed to Show Reasonable Health Needs Justify Under/Unemployment?
- Delay Due to “Lack of Emotional Means” Does Not Bar a Claim for Spousal Support
- Imputation of Income: Debunking the Minimum Wage Myth
