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Under sections 84 – 85 of the ''FLA'', family property includes all real and personal property owned by one or both spouses at the date of separation unless the asset in question is excluded, in which case only the increase in the value of the asset during the relationship is divisible. It is no longer relevant whether an asset was ordinarily used for a family purpose in deciding if it is family property.
A spouse can choose to prove that property classifies as falls under one of the following exclusions:
*Property acquired before or after the relationship;
*Gifts (from a third party) or inheritances to one spouse**Section 85(b.1) defines gifts as gifts to a spouse from a third party , unless the gift or inheritance was transferred into the parties’ joint name or the other spouse’s sole name;
*Most damage awards and insurance proceeds, except those intended to compensate both spouses
*Some kinds of trust property
**A spouse's beneficial interest in property held in a discretionary trust to which the spouse did not not contribute, and that is settled by a person other than the spouse are also excluded from family property under s 85 (f)
Family property is presumptively divided equally unless it would be significantly unfair to do so (ss 81 and 95 of the FLA). Family debt, which is new in the ''FLA'', is divided equally, unless equal division would be significantly unfair to one spouse. The value of all property is calculated at either an agreed date, or at the date of a court hearing. Any increases in the value of the excluded property that occur during the relationship are considered family property and are not excluded from division.
=== 2. Savings ===