Difference between revisions of "Family Relationships"

It is not true that a common-law couple is automatically "married" once they've lived together for a certain amount of time. A common-law couple is never legally married unless they have actually had a marriage ceremony. There is no such thing as a "common-law marriage."

Las Vegas marriages and other sorts of quickie marriages are valid and binding marriages, so long as the marriages meet the criteria for valid marriages, discussed in the next chapter. If you want to undo the marriage, you'll have to get divorced just like every other valid marriage, and that will usually mean waiting until one year has passed since separation. For example, an alcohol-induced Las Vegas marriage was upheld in the very funny 2005 case of Davison v. Sweeney, simply because the spouses knew what they were doing when they married, despite the fact that they had never had sex and separated two days after the marriage, when their respective holidays ended.

There is no such thing as a "legal separation" in British Columbia, nor is it possible to be "legally separated." Whether you're in a common-law relationship or a formal marriage, you are separated the moment you decide that the relationship is over. That's it, there's no magic to it. When you or your partner announces that the relationship is over and there's no chance of getting back together, boom, you're separated.

you do not need to "file for separation" to be separated (in fact, there's no such thing in British Columbia as "filing for separation", despite what you might see on the websites of the people who sell do-it-yourself legal kits);

there are no court or other papers you have to sign to be separated; and,

you don't need to appear before a judge, lawyer, shaman or anyone else to be separated.

The fact that a couple are separated isn't enough to let a spouse remarry, however. You must be formally divorced by an order of the court in order to remarry. If you do remarry without being divorced from the first marriage, the new marriage will be invalid.

On the other hand, the fact that you're separated won't stop you from having a new relationship, including a new relationship which would qualify as a common-law relationship. Technically, this is adultery, but no one except the Pope or your in-laws are likely to care.

It is not true that you need to have a separation agreement to get a divorce. Separation agreements are helpful to record a settlement of the issues arising when a couple separates, like the division of assets or the payment of support and so forth, but they're not a requirement of the divorce process. You especially don't need a separation agreement if the only issue is whether you'll get a divorce order or not.

It is not true that you remain married if your spouse dies. Once that happens, your marriage is at an end. You do not need to obtain a divorce.

The one exception to this last rule has to do with the "consumation" of the marriage, and this exception doesn't mean what most people think it means. A marriage does not need to be consumated to be a valid, binding marriage. In order to escape a marriage on this ground, you or your partner must, I kid you not, have an "invincible repugnance" to the act of sexual intercourse or some physicial condition which makes sex impossible.

It is not true that a common-law couple are automatically married once they've lived together for a certain amount of time, nor is there any such thing as a "common-law marriage." You can have lived together for twenty years and still not be legally married; a common-law couple is never married unless there is an actual marriage ceremony performed by someone licenced to perform marriages.

===="Applying" for Common-Law Status====

A couple becomes common-law when they qualify as a "spouse" under whatever legislative scheme applies; for most federal laws the couple must have lived together for at least one year, and for most provincial laws the couple must have lived together for at least two years. There's no application to make and no one to apply to. It's all about meeting the defition of "spouse."

It is not true that you become common-law spouses simply by living with someone for long enough. You must be living together in a marriage-like relationship to become a common-law couple; mere roommates will not become common-law spouses by accident. There wouldn't be any frat houses if this wasn't the case.

Likewise, a couple won't become common-law spouses if they have a child. They must still live together for long enough to meet the definition of "spouse."

There is no such thing as a "legal separation" in British Columbia, nor is it possible to be "legally separated." Whether you're in a common-law relationship, a marriage or you're just dating, you are separated the moment you decide that the relationship is over. That's it, there's no magic to it. When you or your partner leaves, boom, you're separated. To be completely clear:

Common-law spouses do not need to be divorced. Once you've decided to separate, the relationship is over, regardless of how long the relationship may have been. There is no need to get a divorce because there's no marriage to terminate.

FLA, DA, Civil Marriage Act, Marriage Act