Property & Finances
Stopping a Spouse From Selling Family Property in BC
By SiLaw Group Family LawyersPublished Nov 13, 2026 · 6 min read
If you fear your spouse will sell, mortgage or move property before your claim is decided, section 91 of BC's Family Law Act lets the Supreme Court of British Columbia restrain the disposal. The court must make that order unless your spouse shows your claim will not be harmed.
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers treats a call about property that is about to move as an urgent one. This post explains what section 91 of the Family Law Act says, what the court can order, how an urgent application is made, and why an early order beats a later remedy. These are orders protecting property, not the protection orders the Act provides in cases of family violence. Our family home page covers both occupation and disposal of the home itself.
What Does Section 91 Actually Say?
Section 91(1) of the Family Law Act says that on application by a spouse, the Supreme Court of British Columbia must make an order restraining the other spouse from disposing of any property at issue under the property division or pension division parts of the Act, until or unless the other spouse establishes that a claim under those parts will not be defeated or adversely affected by the disposal.
Three features of that sentence do the work. The word is "must", not "may". The burden sits on the spouse who wants to deal with the property, who has to establish that the claim will not be harmed. And the reach is "any property at issue", which takes in a business, an investment account, a vehicle or a pension entitlement as readily as the home.
What Else Can the Court Order?
Section 91(2) of the Family Law Act gives the court a menu beyond a simple restraint. It may make orders for the possession, delivery, safekeeping and preservation of property. To protect the applicant's interest from being defeated or adversely affected, it may prohibit the other spouse from disposing of, transferring, converting, or exchanging into another form, property in which the applicant may have an interest. It may also vest all or a portion of property in the applicant, or in trust for the applicant.
Under section 91(3) of the Family Law Act, the court may make an order before notice of the application is served on the other spouse, or may instead order that notice be served. Under section 91(4), the court may change, suspend or terminate an order made under the section. An order made without notice is a first step, not a final word, and the other spouse can return to court to argue that it should be lifted or narrowed.
When Can You Apply?
Section 88 of the Family Law Act allows a spouse to apply under this part of the Act at any time before a final agreement or final order is made in relation to a family law dispute respecting property division. You do not have to wait for a trial date or for the other side's disclosure to be complete.
You do have to be a spouse with a property claim to protect, and the claim itself runs on a clock. Under section 198 of the Family Law Act, a spouse must start a proceeding to divide property or family debt no later than two years after the divorce judgment or nullity order for spouses who were married, or two years after separation for spouses who lived in a marriage-like relationship. Our property claim deadlines tool gives a first orientation to that clock, and starting the proceeding is what puts the property at issue in the first place.
How Is an Urgent Application Made?
Since October 1, 2026, an ordinary chambers application in the Supreme Court of British Columbia follows a serve-then-file sequence, which our post on the October 2026 serve-then-file changes to the Supreme Court Family Rules explains step by step. That sequence builds in response time that a disappearing asset does not allow.
The Supreme Court Family Rules answer that with Rule 10-9, the urgent applications rule. In case of urgency, a person may apply for an order that the main application be heard on short notice. That request is made by requisition, without notice and in a summary way, and the court or a registrar may order the main application heard on short notice, fix the hearing date and time, and fix service deadlines. In a true emergency the court may make an order without notice, after which the party who obtained it must promptly serve the entered order and supporting documents on each person affected, and an affected person may apply to change or set aside the order. Our urgent family court applications page covers those steps in practice, and our court procedure page maps where they sit in a case.
Why Does Speed Matter So Much?
Because once property reaches a third party, the Act's remedies change shape. Section 103(4) of the Family Law Act makes a spouse's interest enforceable against the other spouse from the date of separation. Section 103(3) of the same Act says that if a person acquiring property other than land does not have actual notice of a spouse's interest, the spouse's interest is not enforceable against that person. A buyer of property other than land who knew nothing about your claim generally keeps it, and you are left pursuing your spouse for its value. Land follows the registration rules of the Land Title Act, which section 103(2) of the Family Law Act applies to a spouse's interest in land.
The Act does provide after-the-fact tools. Under section 97(2)(c) of the Family Law Act, the court may require a spouse to pay compensation to the other spouse if property has been disposed of, transferred, converted or exchanged into another form. Under section 95(2)(g) of the same Act, the fact that a spouse, other than one acting in good faith, substantially reduced the value of family property or disposed of it in a way that defeated or adversely affected the other spouse's interest is a factor the court may weigh in deciding whether an equal division would be significantly unfair, a test our unequal division page explains. But compensation depends on what the paying spouse still has, and an unequal division argument is a fight about a number. A section 91 order keeps the asset itself in place.
Are There Tools That Do Not Need a Court Application?
Two are written into the Family Law Act. Section 99 of the Act lets a spouse who is a party to a written property agreement, with each signature witnessed, file a notice of agreement in the land title office against land the agreement describes. Once it is registered, the registrar must not allow registration of a transfer, mortgage, agreement for sale or lease of the land unless each spouse who is a party files a cancellation or postponement notice. Section 90(5) of the Act also preserves the filing of an entry under the Land (Spouse Protection) Act, a separate statute with its own requirements that a lawyer can assess for you.
What Should You Bring to the First Meeting?
Evidence of the risk and evidence of the property. A listing agreement, a realtor's email, a lender's pre-approval letter, a transfer confirmation or a message about moving money all help show why the restraint is needed. Full financial disclosure follows in the ordinary course, but an application under section 91 of the Family Law Act does not wait for it.
One caution from practice. Do not answer a feared disposal with one of your own. Emptying a joint account or moving an asset into a relative's name is visible, it invites the same order against you, and the good-faith factor in section 95(2)(g) of the Family Law Act cuts both ways. Our guide to separating your finances covers those interim habits.
Talk to a Lawyer Before the Property Moves
If a sale, a refinancing or a transfer is already in motion, the time to call is today, not after closing. The first 30 minutes with SiLaw Group are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.
This post is legal information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are current to the date of writing and can change.
About SiLaw Group
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a Surrey, BC firm practising family law and mediation. Founder Sandy Sihota is an accredited Family Law Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator (Law Society of BC). Articles are legal information, not legal advice.