Division of property – equalization payment

It is important to note that there is no entitlement to property division unless you are married.

There is a significant difference as to how the law treats married spouses versus couples who are not married.

If you are not married all is not lost as there is another potential avenue to pursue. That is a claim for unjust enrichment, sometimes referred to as constructive trust.

If you are married then there is a fairly strict regulatory scheme in the Family Law Act. Marriage is an economic partnership. The parties share in the growth of the assets (and debts) that accumulated during the marriage. The spouse with the higher Net Family Property (really net worth) owes one-half of the difference to the other party.

For example, the wife has $100,000.00 and the husband has $50,000.00. Then the wife owes the husband $25,000.00 so that they both leave the relationship with $75,000.00.

There are many nuances to the rules e.g. inheritances, date of marriage assets, personal injury damages, exclusions, unequal division etc. However, in most cases property division is a fairly straightforward proposition if proper financial disclosure is made.