Whatever you own before the relationship, such as property, and anything you bought for yourself during the relationship, usually belongs to you if you break up. Anything bought jointly is split. Your partner does not automatically have the right to share in your assets. It is suggested to keep receipts of the things you bought just in case you and your ex-partner cannot agree on who owns something.   

How is property divided with married couples when they separate?

Married share in property accumulated during the marriage automatically. The Family Law Act mandates that marital property be divided equally ensuring fairness in the division process. Property division is governed by two concepts under the Family Law Act: net family property and equalization. Each party figures out their net family property by adding up assets and subtracting the liabilities from the date of marriage to the separation date. The equalization payment is one-half of the difference between the two parties’ net family property.

What happens to the family house in a common-law relationship if both partners are on title?

The family home is treated just like any other asset. If both partners are on the title to the house then it belongs to both of them. Therefore, if they separate, the house will be divided between the two partners as it was jointly purchased.  

What happens to the family house in a common-law relationship if only one partner is on title?

If one partner is on the title to the house, that property would belong to them. However, if you believe that you are entitled to the property or an interest or compensation to any contributions made, there are two ways you can handle that situation: 

First, you can ask your ex-partner to pay you back any financial and non-financial contributions you have made to the property. 

Second, If you and your partner cannot come to an agreement, you can go to court and make a claim.

What are the two types of claims you can make?

• One claim is the “resulting trust” – This arises when one person holds the property but did not pay for it. You must show there was no intention to gift the property. Example: one spouse pays for a house but title is in other spouse’s name.
• Another claim is “unjust enrichment” where the courts will make it fair if someone’s efforts or work benefits your partner unfairly. The partner who missed out will get the value of what they contributed. This is called “quantum meruit” (“as much as one has earned”), where the benefited person pays a reasonable amount of money for services rendered when the amount is not stipulated in an enforceable  contract. It is a claim for payment when someone did work or provided value but was not compensated. It is possible to resolve an unjust enrichment with non-monetary compensation. A “constructive trust” – This is an equitable remedy to prevent unjust enrichment where someone gets a share of the property’s value because they contributed to the property value by their work or money. 

One thing to note is that a common-law spouse has no obligation to provide services to their partner, so there is an assumption that contributions will be compensated.