Difference between revisions of "Basic Principles of Property and Debt in Family Law"

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<blockquote><tt>(2) A spouse includes a former spouse.</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><tt>(2) A spouse includes a former spouse.</tt></blockquote>


Unmarried spouses who have lived together for less than two years are not eligible to ask for orders about the division of property or debt under the ''Family Law Act''.  
Unmarried spouses who have lived together for less than two years are not eligible to ask for orders about the division of property or debt under the ''Family Law Act''. The rules about property that apply to these spouses and other people who aren't spouses are discussed in the first page of this chapter, ______.


===Period of Entitlement===
===Period of Entitlement===
Under s. 81(a) of the ''Family Law Act'', spouses are presumed to each be entitled to share in ''family property''. Family property is defined at s. 84(1) as:
<blockquote><tt>(a) on the date the spouses separate, property</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(i) that is owned by at least one spouse, or</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(ii) in which at least one spouse has a beneficial interest</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
The ''end date'' for the accumulation of family property, then, is presumed to be the date of separation. The ''start date'' is found in the definition of ''excluded property'' at s. 85:
<blockquote><tt>(1) The following is excluded from family property:</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(a) property acquired by a spouse before the relationship between the spouses began</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
The start date and the end date with respect to the accumulation of ''family debt'' is stated more simply in s. 86:
<blockquote><tt>Family debt includes all financial obligations incurred by a spouse</tt></blockquote>
<blockquote><blockquote><tt>(a) during the period beginning when the relationship between the spouses begins and ending when the spouses separate</tt></blockquote></blockquote>
As you can see, the dates when "the relationship between the spouses began" and the date "the spouses separate" are very important.


====Date of Cohabtation or Marriage====
====Date of Cohabtation or Marriage====

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