Cohabitation And Marriage Agreements. Your Most Frequent Questions Answered.

Cohabitation and Marriage Agreements could be overwhelming for those who don’t know the place to start out.  As a household lawyer practising in BC I’m continuously requested many questions on marriage agreements.  I’m hopeful that this text will assist you to by answering the most typical questions I get requested by mates, relations, present and potential purchasers.

Do I really want a cohabitation settlement or marriage settlement?

As household legal professionals, we can’t make this determination for you and everybody’s wants are distinctive. Should you perceive the fundamental assumptions inside household regulation throughout a separation, similar to 50/50 break up of belongings and debt acquired through the relationship, together with improve in worth on something introduced into or acquired through the relationship by way of inheritance or reward, or potential spousal help entitlements payable, and people determinations don’t sit effectively with you- you SHOULD get a cohabitation settlement or marriage settlement.

Why? Marriage Agreements mean you can higher management how your property will probably be divided and the way a lot spousal help could also be payable by both companion ought to your relationship breakdown. These Agreements are additionally meant to acknowledge what every companion is bringing into the connection, how any improve in worth will probably be handled, how items, inheritances, settlements, windfalls, and even how pets will probably be handled. You’ll be able to regain management of the method and set a framework for the way all the things will probably be handled.

Are marriage agreements well worth the paper they’re printed on?

Sure.

To assist be sure that the Cohabitation or Marriage Settlement is enforceable and that the Court docket won’t overturn it or discover the contents considerably unfair to both particular person, the next must be thought-about:

1. be very thorough and embrace as a lot element as attainable about every companion’s present and potential monetary future;
2. rent a lawyer that focuses on household regulation to draft the Settlement;
3. present full monetary disclosure;
4. embrace a evaluation clause that offers the events an opportunity to make revisions periodically, if you’ll truly do a evaluation;
5. if both social gathering has a really excessive present or potential internet value, embrace some stage of property division;
6. if there are kids or plans for kids, embrace some stage of spousal help; and
7. each events ought to have unbiased authorized recommendation from their very own separate lawyer.

Should you observe the rules listed above, you’ll keep away from lots of the pitfalls which have traditionally made these Agreements unenforceable previously.

This feels like a variety of work, the place do I even begin?

Begin with a dialog. The most effective place to start out is to have a really mature and open dialog together with your companion about every of your values, monetary targets, and finally the imaginative and prescient you every have of your future collectively. Ideally, you should have these conversations early within the relationship that will help you to find out in case you have a appropriate plan together with your potential long-term companion. The earlier you’ve gotten these conversations, the better it’s to find out in case your values and targets line up.

When you perceive each of your intentions and have agreed {that a} cohabitation settlement or marriage settlement matches the wants of your relationship, considered one of it’s best to rent a lawyer to start out drafting the Settlement. This lawyer will assist reply your whole questions and be sure that your intentions are captured throughout the Settlement.

What if I’m already married or thought-about common-law, do I’ve choices?

Sure.

Cohabitation agreements and marriage agreements could be entered into at any time within the relationship together with earlier than you progress in collectively, after residing collectively for 2 years, and even after being married for any period of time. Nevertheless, the issue with these Agreements is that they’re tougher to barter for the reason that rights and duties granted by the laws are already in impact. Thus, there could also be much less incentive for both social gathering to signal relying on their respective monetary place.  For relationships of quick period, particularly with out kids, there should be negotiating room, however for those who’ve been in a relationship for 10 years, negotiations are going to be solely dependent upon the goodwill of each events concerned.

How do I do know if I’m in a common-law relationship?

Many individuals have no idea if their relationship is taken into account common-law. The definition of a common-law relationship varies inside Canada.

Federally, people are thought-about common-law in the event that they stay collectively in a marital relationship and are usually not married, for interval of 12 or extra steady months (or for CRA functions have a toddler collectively). That is related for submitting your taxes however just isn’t the definition throughout the context of household regulation.

Provincially, every province has a unique definition. In British Columbia, a person is in a common-law relationship in the event that they:

1. stay collectively in a wedding like relationship for at the very least 2 years; or
2. Though they don’t seem to be common-law, and can’t apply for property division beneath the Household Regulation Act, a pair who’ve a toddler collectively are thought-about spouses for the aim of spousal help.

Is there legally a distinction between being common-law and being married?

The distinction between the 2 has grow to be much less apparent after the Household Relations Act was changed with the Family Law Act in 2013. That is the piece of laws that governs household regulation inside British Columbia.

With this modification in laws, common-law spouses had the identical rights and duties as married spouses. This was a progressive change that positioned a better worth on the contributions of a common-law partner to the connection and allowed for extra equality within the absence of marriage.

The actual distinction is that when the connection breaks down, married {couples} should search a proper divorce by way of the Supreme Court docket of British Columbia, whereas common-law spouses can separate with out formal enter from the Court docket. There are additionally variations within the limitation intervals set on each for once they can search spousal help or division of property reduction from the Court docket.

This course of doesn’t have to be overwhelming. We’re right here to reply any questions you could have about acquiring a cohabitation or marriage settlement. It’s higher to know your choices after which resolve the place to go from there. Name 604-974-9529 or get in contact.