All About Estates
By Mohena Singh
March 27th, 2026
Cross-border capacity and guardianship issues are becoming increasingly common as families, assets, and caregiving arrangements span jurisdictions.
In Abitbol v. Abitbol, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice confirmed that a foreign guardianship order issued outside Canada may be recognized and enforced in Ontario under common law principles.
The respondent was an 82-year-old individual residing in Israel who had lived there since 1993. He had been found incapable of managing property under Israeli law, and his daughter was appointed as his guardian of property and personal care by an Israeli court in 2024.
The respondent held some bank accounts and investments in Ontario. However, the guardian was unable to gain access to those Ontario-based assets to fund the respondent’s ongoing care in Israel. The applicant therefore sought an Ontario order resealing the Israeli guardianship order or, alternatively, recognizing the Israeli order as a valid foreign judgment enforceable in Ontario.
Section 86 of Ontario’s Substitute Decisions Act (“SDA”) permits the resealing of certain foreign guardianship orders, but only where the order originates from another Canadian province, territory, or a prescribed jurisdiction. No list of prescribed non-Canadian jurisdictions has ever been enacted.
As a result, the Court had to determine whether, and on what basis, an Ontario court can recognize a guardianship order made outside Canada.
This case reaffirms that foreign guardianship orders from outside Canada can be recognized in Ontario under common law principles —even when the foreign order does not fall within the perimeters of the legislation— as long as there is a real and substantial connection between the foreign jurisdiction and the individual and the order is not obtained by fraud or a breach of natural justice.
