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→Things to think about after separation
==Things to think about after separation==
Once you've separated, there a number of things you may want to do, change, or adjust to reflect the your new circumstances of your relationship with your spouse. In general, you need to protect your privacy and safeguard your financial interests.
===Bank accounts and credit cards===
You should remove your name from any joint bank accounts or credit cards. If your spouse has signing authority or debiting authority on any of your accounts or credit cards, you should consider cancelling their authority.
Credit cards, loans, and lines of credit can often be capped by telling the bank to make the accounts ''deposit only''. This will mean that no more withdrawals can be made and the only transactions that can take place are deposits. You could also tell the bank to reduce the credit limit on any joint debts to the current balance on the those <span class="noglossary">accountaccounts</span>.
===Insurance policies, pensions and RRSPs===
You may wish to change the beneficiary of your insurance policies, pensions, and RRSP accounts if your spouse is the present beneficiary. If your spouse is the irrevocable beneficiary on such an <span class="noglossary">account</span>, your bank or insurance company may require your spouse's consent to remove their name as a beneficiary.
===Jointly -owned real estate===
Most spouses own real estate as “joint tenants”tenants. " The essential feature really important aspect of this type of joint ownership is that if one of you the joint owners dies, then the surviving party will owners continue to own the entire property. This is different from the other type of joint ownership, a "tenancy in common." When a joint owner who is a tenant in common dies, their share of the property goes to their estate to be distributed according to their Will.
The ''[[Family Law Act]]'' says that when you separateon the date of separation each spouse is entitled to their share of the family property and responsible for their share of the family debt, you and your spouse each have an interest in that the spouses take their the other’s share shares of the ownership family property as a tenant ''tenants in common''. Of course, but the Land Title office does not and Survey Authority doesn't know you have 've separated. How your title is legally registered will not automatically change as a result because of your separation.
There are reasons both for and against keeping the ownership of any jointly-owned property registered as joint tenants. If You should get advice from a family law lawyer if you do not want to risk the have jointly-owned property becoming entirely owned by your spouse . You should see a real estate lawyer for help in case of your death, then changing the way that you can change the type of ownership by transferring your interest to yourself. This change must be registered with own the Land Title Officereal estate.
If you've separated but you still want your spouse to receive a gift or appointment through in your Will, you must update your Will and specify that the gift or appointment should proceed be made even after your separationthough you've separated. You should see a wills and estates lawyer for help in making or changing a Will. ===Powers of attorney and other authorizations===
===Medical and dental insurance===