Difference between revisions of "Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law"
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====The ''Family Relations Act'' and the ''Family Law Act''==== | ====The ''Family Relations Act'' and the ''Family Law Act''==== | ||
Under the ''Family Relations Act'', married spouses shared in all property that was "ordinarily used for a family purpose." This meant that you didn't need to look at who owned something on paper, how something was acquired, or whether property was acquired before or during the relationship; what mattered was how the property was ''used''. For most couples ''everything'' they had wound up being ordinarily used for a family purpose in one way or another. | Under the ''Family Relations Act'', married spouses shared in all property that was "ordinarily used for a family purpose." This meant that you didn't need to look at who owned something on paper, how something was acquired, or whether property was acquired before or during the relationship; what mattered was how the property was ''used''. For most couples, ''everything'' they had wound up being ordinarily used for a family purpose in one way or another. | ||
Under the ''Family Law Act'', use is irrelevant. In fact that's exactly what s. 81(a) says: | Under the ''Family Law Act'', use is irrelevant. In fact that's exactly what s. 81(a) says: | ||
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<blockquote><tt>spouses are both entitled to family property and responsible for family debt, regardless of their respective use or contribution</tt></blockquote> | <blockquote><tt>spouses are both entitled to family property and responsible for family debt, regardless of their respective use or contribution</tt></blockquote> | ||
What matters now is ''when'' property was acquired and ''how'' property was acquired. Property bought before the spouses' relationship began is presumed to be excluded property; property bought during the spouses' relationship with excluded property is also presumed to be excluded property. Under a ''deferred community of property'' regime, both spouses are presumed to have an interest in all assets on the date of separation. Under a ''deferred partnership of acquests'' regime, the spouses are presumed to have an interest in only the assets they accumulated during their relationship on the date of separation, except for any assets | What matters now is ''when'' property was acquired and ''how'' property was acquired. Property bought before the spouses' relationship began is presumed to be excluded property; property bought during the spouses' relationship with excluded property is also presumed to be excluded property. Under a ''deferred community of property'' regime, both spouses are presumed to have an interest in all assets on the date of separation. Under a ''deferred partnership of acquests'' regime, the spouses are presumed to have an interest in only the assets they accumulated during their relationship on the date of separation, except for any assets bought with excluded property. | ||
====Transition provisions==== | ====Transition provisions==== | ||