property division

In Ontario, married couples are entitled to a division of the family law property upon the breakdown of marriage. The overarching principle is that marriage is a partnership where spouses contribute equally, financially and otherwise. These contributions can come in the form of childcare and household duties. In accordance with that principle, spouses are entitled to benefit from the accumulation of wealth and property acquired during the marriage. Upon marital breakdown, one spouse may have increased their net worth significantly more than the other spouse. The law requires that the division of marital property occur in a way that recognizes the economic consequences of a marital breakdown for each spouse.

The Family Law Act sets out the calculation for the division of property upon the breakdown of marriage. The calculation is based on the principle that spouses are to split the difference between the growth of each spouse’s net worth starting from the date of marriage up until the date that they separate. The growth in each spouse’s net worth is referred to as the “net family property.”

The law is different for common law spouses. Common law spouses may have to bring a trust claim such as a constructive trust or a joint family venture in order to prove entitlement to an interest in property.