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Difference between revisions of "Unmarried Spouses"
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==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
The legal rights and responsibilities people in an unmarried relationship owe to each other are described in a number of different laws, and these different laws have different definitions of what it means to be a "spouse" or a "common-law partner"; a couple might meet the test under one law but not under another. | The legal rights and responsibilities people in an unmarried relationship owe to each other, and the government benefits to which they might be entitled, are described in a number of different laws, and these different laws have different definitions of what it means to be a "spouse" or a "common-law partner"; a couple might meet the test under one law but not the test under another. The really important question is this: ''Do I qualify as a "spouse" under this particular piece of legislation?'' | ||
Although married couples are always married spouses, unmarried couples aren't always unmarried spouses. For example, the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vb7 Income Tax Act]'' defines "spouse" as including people who have cohabited for one year, while the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84l7 Employment and Assistance Act]'' defines spouse as including people living together for three months if a welfare caseworker believes that their relationship demonstrates "financial dependence or interdependence, and social and familial interdependence." | |||
Although married couples are always married spouses, unmarried couples aren't always unmarried spouses. For example, the federal ''[http://canlii.ca/t/7vb7 Income Tax Act]'' defines spouse as including people who have cohabited for one year, while the provincial ''[http://canlii.ca/t/84l7 Employment and Assistance Act]'' defines spouse as including people living together for three months if a welfare caseworker believes that their relationship demonstrates "financial dependence or interdependence, and social and familial interdependence." | |||
Regardless of a couple's federal or provincial status under these rules, it is not true that being an unmarried spouse or common-law partner means that you are legally married. Being married involves a formal ceremony and certain other legal requirements like a marriage licence. Without that ceremony and that licence, unmarried spouses will never be married, no matter how long they've lived together. | Regardless of a couple's federal or provincial status under these rules, it is not true that being an unmarried spouse or common-law partner means that you are legally married. Being married involves a formal ceremony and certain other legal requirements like a marriage licence. Without that ceremony and that licence, unmarried spouses will never be married, no matter how long they've lived together. | ||
