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Ontario Family lawyers can help Common Law couples with spousal support; Harder in Quebec
In Ontario, an unmarried couple is considered to be in a common law marriage if they’ve lived together for over three years or have a child and live in a relationship of some kind of permanence. As such, when they break up they may be entitled to spousal support and a division of assets just as if the couple were legally married originally.
In Quebec, unmarried couples (even if they are common law) are not entitled to any such support.
The case of Eric and Lola, a billionaire and his ex-spouse, was heard last year in a Quebec court and a judge decided that only legally married spouses should be entitled to support in the event of a marriage breakdown. Their full names are not currently publishable due to a publication ban, but the media has dubbed them “Eric and Lola”.
The case is to be heard in the Quebec Court of Appeal this week, and should prove why not allowing spousal support for unmarried but conjugal couples is unconstitutional. Eric and Lola are also parents, and only a few years ago almost 60 per cent of children in Quebec were born to parents who weren’t married.
Without the appropriate spousal support in place for these two, as with any common-law parenting couple that breaks up, one parent may not be financially stable enough to provide for a child adequately.
Ontario couples are lucky, because the work, financial contributions and time that goes into a common law relationship is recognized by Ontario family law when the union breaks up. Hopefully, those in Quebec will soon be just as fairly treated.
2010 Brings Major Changes to Family Law in Ontario
Commencing March 1, 2010, the McGuinty government will be implementing major reforms to a variety of Family Law matters in Ontario. The reforms have been introduced with the objective of improving the public’s access to justice in family courts.
The following are some highlights of the changes that will take effect under the new legislation:
- Family law litigants will have greater access to legal advice and the opportunity to resolve issues through the use of mediation, arbitration, and collaborative family law
- Steps to family law litigation will be streamlined and simplified
- Steps to obtaining a restraining order have been modified
- Child support amounts pursuant to either a court order or a domestic contract filed with the court may be recalculated by a child support service to reflect updated income information
- Additional evidentiary requirements must now be met when filing an application for custody or access to a child, including an accompanying affidavit containing a proposed plan for the child’s care and upbringing and information regarding the person’s current or previous involvement in any family law and criminal proceedings
- Every person applying for child custody or access who is not a parent must complete and provide to the court the results of a police records check and a children’s aid society report
- Where a person is declared to be the parent of a child, his or her written consent is required to change the child’s surname, if consent cannot be obtained or is refused an application can be made to the court
- Where a person is declared to be the parent of a child, an application can be made to the court to request that the child’s surname be changed to any surname that the child could have been given at birth
- The definition of “Net Family Property” has been amended to include any contingent tax liabilities when calculating a spouse’s debts and liabilities on the date of separation
- “Property” is to include the imputed value of a spouse’s interest in a pension plan
Full details of the upcoming reforms are still to be released by the government.
Check back to our blog for further details once the family law changes come into effect on March 1, 2010.
For further information on family law and divorce contact us at info@divorcesupport.ca or call us at 416 222 4555
Filed in Child Custody in Ontario, Child Support, Child Visitation, Cohabitation Agreements, Collaborative Law, Common Law Marriage, Divorce, Family Law Changes Ontario, Family Property Division, Marriage Contracts, Mediation, Prenuptial Agreements, Separation Agreements, Support Orders, Toronto Family Lawyers • Tags: Net Family Property
Cohabitation Agreements for Common Law Couples in Ontario
The definition of a common law relationship in Ontario is that you have either lived with your significant other for three years or you are in some kind of permanent relationship together and have a child. There is no legal paperwork needed to establish a common-law relationship like in a marriage. Some provinces, like Ontario, require 3 years of continuous cohabitation, meaning a short-term breakup can sometimes ruin this continuity. Other provinces have no such requirements.
Couples who live together, or cohabitate, but are not married, whether heterosexual or same sex couples, are not included in the section of Ontario’s Family Law Act that states property accumulated during the marriage must be divided. For one person to make a claim for the division of property or to remain in the matrimonial home, they must be legally married to the person. Common law spouses can also be compelled to testify against each other in court, unlike married couples.
Cohabitation is defined by several factors in the eyes of a judge. Some of these factors include whether or not you were financially interdependent, whether or not you acted as a couple in social settings, whether or not your relationship was intimate, and whether or not you shared some kind of shelter or home.
Common law partners are able to apply for spousal support in the case of the dissolution of the partnership just like a married person. While there is now no set time limit to apply in Ontario (it used to be two years) in other provinces there are limits.
A cohabitation agreement can help protect both parties in a common law situation. It can help prevent litigation and extra costs in the event of the breakdown of the relationship while protecting your assets and setting aside rules for future child support engagements.
Filed in Cohabitation Agreements, Common Law Marriage • Tags: Family Law Act
How is division of property dealt with for common law couples in Ontario?
Common law couples don’t have the same rights as married couples to share the property they bought when they lived together. What you brought into the relationship — for example, furniture, household items and other items – belong to you.
Common law couples do not have the right to divide between them the increase in value of the property they brought with them to the relationship. If you did contribute to your spouse’s property you may have a right to it and, unless he or she agrees to pay you back, you can go to court and prove your contributions.
You can ask for spousal support if you have been living together for three years or if you have lived together for less time and have a child together. If your spouse says “no” then you can go to court.
Child support also applies if you and your spouse have a child or children together.
Common law couples can sign a cohabitation agreement to protect their rights.
Filed in Common Law Marriage, Questions and Answers • Tags: Common Law Separation