1,399
edits
Difference between revisions of "Property and Debt in Family Law Matters"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Property and Debt in Family Law Matters (view source)
Revision as of 16:57, 27 June 2019
, 16:57, 27 June 2019→Dividing property and debt under the Family Law Act
Helen Chiu (talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 16: | Line 16: | ||
The parts of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' that talk about the division of property and debt apply to people who are ''spouses''. The definition of spouse for these parts of the act are a bit different from the rest of the act. For the division of property and debt, a spouse is: | The parts of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' that talk about the division of property and debt apply to people who are ''spouses''. The definition of spouse for these parts of the act are a bit different from the rest of the act. For the division of property and debt, a spouse is: | ||
*someone who is married or was married to someone else, or | |||
*someone who is or was living in a "marriage-like relationship" with someone else for at least two years. | |||
People who lived together for less than two years are ''not'' spouses for these parts of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', whether they've had a child together or not. | People who lived together for less than two years are ''not'' spouses for these parts of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'', whether they've had a child together or not. | ||
| Line 32: | Line 32: | ||
The ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about three things when it comes to dividing property and debt: ''family property'', ''excluded property'', and ''family debt''. | The ''[[Family Law Act]]'' talks about three things when it comes to dividing property and debt: ''family property'', ''excluded property'', and ''family debt''. | ||
All property owned by either or both spouses (including property owned by a spouse jointly with a third party such as a parent) at the date of separation is ''family property'' unless it is ''excluded property''. Family property includes things like real property, bank accounts, pensions, | All property owned by either or both spouses (including property owned by a spouse jointly with a third party such as a parent) at the date of separation is ''family property'' unless it is ''excluded property''. Family property includes things like real property, bank accounts, pensions, businesses, debts owing to a spouse, and so forth. Family property is presumed to be shared equally between spouses, regardless of their use of or contribution to that property. | ||
''Excluded property'' is any property that is excluded from the pool of family property to be split between spouses. This includes the property a spouse owned before the date of marriage or the date the spouses began living together, whichever is earlier, plus certain kinds of property acquired during the spouses' relationship, including: | ''Excluded property'' is any property that is excluded from the pool of family property to be split between spouses. This includes the property a spouse owned before the date of marriage or the date the spouses began living together, whichever is earlier, plus certain kinds of property acquired during the spouses' relationship, including: | ||
