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{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC}}
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==Married Spouses spouses and Unmarried Spousesunmarried spouses==
Married spouses and unmarried couples who have lived together for at least two years are presumed to have a one-half interest in all property either or both of them acquired after the date the couple married or began to live together, whichever came first. Certain property is excluded from the family property the spouses are expected to divide, including:
If you want to do better than this, you'll have to sign a marriage agreement or a cohabitation agreement at some point before or shortly after you marry or begin to live together.
If you don't want to spend the money getting an agreement drawn up, here are some other things that can help:
*When you begin to live together, take copies of the statements from all of your bank, investment, retirement, credit and loan accounts, copies of your BC Assessments for all real property, staple them together and put them in a safety deposit box. This <span class="noglossary">will </span> help you to establish the value of the property you brought into the relationship.
*During your relationship, keep a careful record of what you buy with the property you brought into the relationship.
*During your relationship, keep records of the dates and values of any inheritances, gifts, insurance proceeds or court award that you receive.
A lot more information about how married spouses and unmarried spouses divide property can be found in the ______ chapter of this wiki.
==Unmarried Couples Who Arencouples who aren't Spousesspouses==
For unmarried couples who don't qualify as spouses, the only property that is presumed to be shared is property that is jointly owned. Even if one person contributed virtually nothing to the purchase or upkeep of an asset, the simple fact that his or her name is on the title of the property or on the owner's registration means that he or she is presumed to have an ownership interest in the property. The property might not be shared equally between the parties, but in most cases each partner <span class="noglossary">will </span> get something.
There are no such presumptions about property that only one person owns. When one partner wants to make a claim to share in an asset owned only by the other partner, the claim must be brought under the law of trusts and the law of equity. These are difficult claims to make, and almost always results in an award that is far less than the what the person would get if the couple had been spouses.
More information about how unmarried couples divide property can be found in the _____ chapter of this wiki.
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[JP Boyd]], March 24, 2013}}
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[[Category:How Do I? (|G]][[Category:Family Law|G]][[Category:Avoiding an Obligation|G]] {{Creative Commons|title = JP Boyd on Family Law)|author = [[JP Boyd|John-Paul Boyd]]and Courthouse Libraries BC }}