Difference between revisions of "Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law"

People who are married or who lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years are entitled to share in the property they acquired during their relationship, and are entitled to keep any property they each brought into the relationship. The same thing goes for debt. Spouses are presumed to be equally responsible for debt accumulating during the relationship but be separately responsible for any debt that they had going into the relationship.

This all sounds pretty straightforward but there are lots of details that can make the division of property and debt complicated. This page talks about how property and debt are divided between spouses under the ''Family Law Act'' and how they used to be divided under the ''[[Family Relations Act]]'', what property is shareable family property and which property is excluded from division, and the role marriage agreements and cohabitation agreements can play in controlling the impact of the ''[[Family Law Act]]''.