Anonymous

Difference between revisions of "Cohabitation and Living Together Agreements"

From Clicklaw Wikibooks

Cohabitation and Living Together Agreements (view source)

Revision as of 22:26, 19 May 2013

1,343 bytes added ,  22:26, 19 May 2013
→‎Unmarried couples and cohabitation agreements
Line 15: Line 15:
===Unmarried couples and cohabitation agreements===
===Unmarried couples and cohabitation agreements===


The big difference between marriage agreements and cohabitation agreements is that people who sign a cohabitation agreement aren't married and may not intend to get married, or at least not just yet. As a result, it's important to understand exactly how the legal status of unmarried couples differs from that of married couples before even thinking about the idea of a cohabitation agreement.  
The big difference between marriage agreements and cohabitation agreements is that people who sign a cohabitation agreement aren't married and may not intend to get married, or at least not just yet. They may become unmarried spouses or they may not. As a result, it's important to understand exactly how the legal status of unmarried spouses differs from the legal status of other unmarried couples and the legal status of married spouses before even thinking about the idea of a cohabitation agreement.  


Married couples have been legally married, either by a civil ceremony performed by a marriage commissioner or in a religious ceremony performed by a religious official. An unmarried couple will become "spouses" for the purposes of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'':
Married spouses have been legally married, either by a civil ceremony performed by a marriage commissioner or in a religious ceremony performed by a religious official. Married spouses who go to court are entitled to ask for orders under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' about the division of property and debt and spousal support, and, if they have children, orders about parenting arrangements and contact.


#once they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for two years, or,
An unmarried couple will become "spouses" for the purposes of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' if:
#if they've lived together for a shorter period of time and have a child together.


Unmarried couples, including unmarried couples who are spouses, are not legally married to one another, and they'll stay that way until they are formally married.  
#they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for two years, or,
#they've lived together in a marriage-like relationship for a shorter period of time and have a child together.


For the purposes of this discussion, the critical distinction between married spouses, and unmarried spouses and other unmarried couples lies in the different legal issues that arise when these different sorts of relationship come to an end. Here's a summary:
Couples who have lived together for at least two years and go to court are entitled to ask for orders under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' about the division of property and debt and spousal support, and, if they have children, orders about parenting arrangements and contact. Their rights are exactly the same as married spouses.
 
However, couples who have a child and have lived together for less than two years are only entitled to ask for orders about and spousal support, and, if they have children, orders about parenting arrangements and contact. They can't ask for orders about the division of property and debt under the ''Family Law Act''.
 
An unmarried couple who aren't spouses under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' can only ask for orders about parenting arrangements and contact. They can't ask for orders about the division of property and debt or spousal support under the ''Family Law Act''.
 
For the purposes of this discussion, the critical distinction between unmarried spouses and other unmarried couples lies in the different legal issues that arise when these different sorts of relationship come to an end. Here's a summary:


::{| width="65%" class="wikitable"
::{| width="65%" class="wikitable"
!style="width: 25%"|
!style="width: 20%"|
!style="width: 20%" align="center"|Unmarried Spouses
!style="width: 15%" align="center"|Unmarried Spouses<br>Together for two years or more
!style="width: 20%" align="center"|Other Unmarried Couples
!style="width: 15%" align="center"|Unmarried Spouses<br>Together for less than two years
!style="width: 15%" align="center"|Other Unmarried Couples
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Divorce'''|| ||
|align="center"|'''Divorce'''|| || ||
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Guardianship'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|align="center"|'''Guardianship'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Parental Responsibilities and<br>Parenting Time'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|align="center"|'''Parental Responsibilities and<br>Parenting Time'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Contact'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|align="center"|'''Contact'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Child Support'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|align="center"|'''Child Support'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Spousal Support||align="center"|Yes||
|align="center"|'''Spousal Support||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Family Property and<br/>Family Debt'''||align="center"|Yes||
|align="center"|'''Family Property and<br/>Family Debt'''||align="center"|Yes|| ||
|-  
|-  
|align="center"|'''Protection Orders'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|align="center"|'''Protection Orders'''||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes||align="center"|Yes
|-
|-
|align="center"|'''Financial Restraining Orders'''||align="center"|Yes||
|align="center"|'''Financial Restraining Orders'''||align="center"|Yes|| ||
|}
|}


Retrieved from "https://wiki.clicklaw.bc.ca/index.php?title=Special:MobileDiff/12687"