Divorce Tips:  How to Deal with Your Spouse’s False Allegations 

Divorce can be a harrowing and emotionally-charged experience. In many Ontario divorces, the embattled spouses often scheme about ways to gain tactical advantages over each other.  Although there are many strategies for doing this, a common one is also the simplest: Through falsehood.  

In your own divorce, you may have learned that your spouse is making false allegations against you. Perhaps you are being wrongly accused of abuse, infidelity, or financial misconduct. Maybe your spouse is spreading rumors that harm your reputation, or they are telling lies to your child about your not wanting to spend time with them. Your fear could impact the court’s decision around the outcome of your divorce case.

If you find yourself in this situation, knowing how it can affect your case and what legal protections are available is important. Here are the basics of what you need to know:

1. How the Law Protects You Against False Allegations During Divorce? 

Under Ontario law, both you and your spouse have a legal obligation to act in good faith and provide truthful evidence during your divorce proceedings.  You are also legally required to make full and frank disclosure about any financial and related matters touching upon your legal issues.

During your divorce proceeding, part of the court’s job is to evaluate your respective testimonies and evidence, and assess it for credibility.  If the court must untangle your spouse’s lies about you, or if there are otherwise competing versions of the truth, it can complicate the process and prolong an already stressful situation. 

2. How Can False Allegations Impact My Divorce Outcome?

Your spouse’s false claims about financial matters – if left unchallenged – could give them an advantage in areas such as child custody, spousal support, or property division.  

Likewise, untrue allegations of family violence (including emotional abuse), neglect, or other misconduct can sway the court into restricting your parenting time or decision-making authority. This is because the court’s paramount consideration is the best interests of your child; if your spouse succeeds in fostering untruths about your abilities as a parent, for example, the court will make an order protecting your child accordingly. 

3. What Recourse Do You Have?

In Ontario, several legal mechanisms are in place to protect you if your spouse makes false allegations:

• Family Law Legislation: If your spouse makes false statements under oath during the divorce proceedings, in Ontario the Family Law Act, the Family Law Rules, and the Divorce Act all empower the court to make rulings that circumvent the impact of those falsehoods.  For example, the court can entirely discount your spouse’s evidence on the pertinent topic; it will instead prefer your own version of the facts, in light of the adverse findings around your spouse’s credibility.

• Best Interest of the Children:  Especially if you have children, the court will always focus on their best interests when deciding issues like parenting time and decision-making responsibility.  If your spouse is making patently false allegations, this will again play into the court’s determinations and ultimate rulings.

• Parental Alienation: If your spouse is making false claims of child abuse or neglect against you as a means of trying to distance or alienate you from your children, this could also backfire.  Courts in Ontario specifically recognize the harmful effects of parental alienation, and take it into account when making decisions on parenting time and related issues.

• Ruling on Costs: The court can also penalize your spouse with an adverse costs order, if it becomes clear that he or she is making false accusations against you, to try to gain an advantage in your divorce.

• Perjury: Finally, if your spouse is making false statements under oath (including swearing false financial statements), this technically constitutes perjury, which is a serious offence under the Criminal Code, punishable by up to 14 years. Although this is seldom invoked in Family matters (since the courts have many other sanctions at their disposal), it is available in more egregious cases.

4. What Practical Steps Can You Take?

Anytime your spouse makes false allegations against you, it will only complicate the proceedings, especially if there are children involved. There are several steps you can take to protect yourself:

• Hire an Experienced Lawyer: He or she can help you understand your rights and develop a strategy to defend yourself. 
• Gather Evidence: Collect any evidence that disproves the false allegations. This might include text messages, emails, social media posts, photographs, videos, witness testimony, or even just notes of your conversations. In fact, keep a detailed record of all interactions with your spouse, especially if they involve accusations of abuse or misconduct. Having evidence on hand can make it easier to challenge your spouse’s claims in court.
• Request a Professional Assessment: In cases involving children, you can request a court-ordered assessment from a neutral third party, such as a mediator or trained psychologist. These impartial evaluations help the court assess the validity of the allegations and determine whether they have any basis in fact.
• Cooperate with Law Enforcement: If the allegations against you involve criminal conduct (such as physical abuse), cooperate with any police investigations. 
• Seek a Case Management Conference: You can request a case management conference in court, where a judge will meet with you and your spouse to discuss the issues at hand in a preliminary way. This is an opportunity for your lawyer to present your side of the story and potentially resolve the false allegations before they escalate further. The judge may dismiss or discount the allegations at the outset, if they are clearly unsupported by evidence.

If you are dealing with false accusations during your divorce or need additional support from a specialist, feel free to give our offices a call.