Scénario

L'un de vous possédait déjà le logement

Qui a payé l'hypothèque après l'emménagement n'est pas la même question que de savoir si la province traite les conjoints de fait comme des époux.

Ne copiez pas la loi du voisin

En Ontario, les conjoints de fait n'ont généralement pas l'égalisation de la partie I. En Colombie-Britannique, des claims de la partie 5 peuvent naître. Au Québec, le patrimoine familial ne s'attache pas à l'union de fait.

Une clause « la maison reste séparée » peut être superflue, centrale, ou mal catégorisée selon ce défaut.

propertystatute

Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3, ss. 53, 55, 56(4)

Default property position if unmarried

Equalization of net family property in Part I is a married-spouse machine. Unmarried partners do not get that statutory equalization. A cohabitation agreement is how they allocate property by contract. Some support rights can arise after three years of cohabitation or a child of the relationship.

  • Do not assume the couple is already in a spouse-like property statute. Read this province’s trigger.
  • Do not import U.S. UPAA waiting periods or Swedish Skatteverket registration into Ontario analysis.
propertystatute

Family Law Act, S.B.C. 2011, c. 25, ss. 3, 81, 92–93

Default property position if unmarried

s. 3 treats as spouses persons who are married or who have lived in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least two years, or who have lived in a marriage-like relationship and have a child together. Unmarried spouses can have Part 5 property claims. That is not Ontario and not Québec.

  • Do not assume the couple is already in a spouse-like property statute. Read this province’s trigger.
  • Do not analyze BC using Ontario FLA Part I or Québec family patrimony.
propertystatute

Civil Code of Québec, CQLR c. CCQ-1991 (de facto unions; no family patrimony)

Default property position if unmarried

De facto spouses do not enter family patrimony by cohabiting. Property follows title, ordinary contract, and unjust-enrichment ideas a lawyer may assess—not the married spouses’ family patrimony.

  • Do not assume the couple is already in a spouse-like property statute. Read this province’s trigger.
  • Do not apply Ontario FLA equalization, British Columbia FLA unmarried-spouse property, or U.S. UPAA formalities to Québec. French and English versions of the Code are official; this pack cites the English LégisQuébec text.