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Difference between revisions of "Unmarried Spouses"

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==Introduction==
==Introduction==


The legal rights and responsibilities people in an unmarried relationship owe to each other are described in a number of different laws, and these different laws have different definitions of what it means to be a "spouse" or a "common-law partner"; a couple might meet the test under one law but not under another.  
The legal rights and responsibilities people in an unmarried relationship owe to each other, and the government benefits to which they might be entitled, are described in a number of different laws, and these different laws have different definitions of what it means to be a "spouse" or a "common-law partner"; a couple might meet the test under one law but not the test under another. The really important question is this: ''Do I qualify as a "spouse" under this particular piece of legislation?''


The really important question is this: ''Do I qualify as a "spouse" under this particular piece of legislation?''
Although married couples are always married spouses, unmarried couples aren't always unmarried spouses. For example, the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vb7 Income Tax Act]'' defines "spouse" as including people who have cohabited for one year, while the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84l7 Employment and Assistance Act]'' defines spouse as including people living together for three months if a welfare caseworker believes that their relationship demonstrates "financial dependence or interdependence, and social and familial interdependence."
 
Although married couples are always married spouses, unmarried couples aren't always unmarried spouses. For example, the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vb7 Income Tax Act]'' defines spouse as including people who have cohabited for one year, while the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84l7 Employment and Assistance Act]'' defines spouse as including people living together for three months if a welfare caseworker believes that their relationship demonstrates "financial dependence or interdependence, and social and familial interdependence."


Regardless of a couple's federal or provincial status under these rules, it is not true that being an unmarried spouse or common-law partner means that you are legally married. Being married involves a formal ceremony and certain other legal requirements like a marriage licence. Without that ceremony and that licence, unmarried spouses will never be married, no matter how long they've lived together.
Regardless of a couple's federal or provincial status under these rules, it is not true that being an unmarried spouse or common-law partner means that you are legally married. Being married involves a formal ceremony and certain other legal requirements like a marriage licence. Without that ceremony and that licence, unmarried spouses will never be married, no matter how long they've lived together.