Can anyone help us please??

[Karen]

Hi I was wondering if anyone has gone through this or can give me some advice, specifically if in Quebec.
My boyfriend and I want to move in together, we have been waiting since February and we are awaiting a baby in January but his ex wont move out of the house claiming it's half hers. They have been together for 7 years but are NOT married. They just bought a house a little over a year ago and the papers are in HIS name ONLY because she had bad credit. Is she entitled to half?

Also he opened his own business 2 years before they met and because she worked there full time she wants half of that. Is she entitled to anything? Oh and I should let it be known that she worked for no pay, as she couldn't manage money.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Kimberley]

I can't be completely certain, but as far as I am aware, if her name is not on the title of the house or property, he has the legal right to have the locks changed & she must move out. She could very well apply for an unjust enrichment if she paid a proportional amount towards the bills, or a down payment so he could pay the mortgage, but again, he can lock her out of the home.
I don't mean to come across as rude, but if the relationship is truly over between the two of them, and you are expecting his child, why the long wait for him to get up off his butt & look into where he stand legally to move on with his life with you.
In that same regard, you should also be asking yourself why the procrastination if he is truly ready to start a new relationship with you and bring a child into the world.
It seems to me that you & he have much to discuss about what steps need to be taken in order to make your life together, just be prepared if there is a lack of response and don't spend your days stressing & holding on to something he's doing nothing about.

[Karen]

Her name is not on any of the papers and as she was not legally working she did not give any money towards anything. She was working for him, under the table but I don't think it would be in her best interest to use that against him as she would be in just as much trouble for not claiming any income.
He didn't want to go through a lawyer and a big battle he thought that they could seperate on good conditions. He offered to find her a place to live, buy whatever she needed for the apartment (fridge, stove, washer, dryer, etc) which he did do and sat down with her and went through each room and asked her what she wanted. That went very well in the beginning and she agreed to it. He didn't kick her out when we first started as it was winter and she had no where to go so he told her she could stay there, in the spare room, until her apartment was ready June 1st. She agreed to everything. On June 1st he went to get the keys from the landlord and the people that were suppose to be moving had changed their mind and never contacted him. So he started looking for another apartment. When he found one for her she said she was not moving. She says that even though she has never given him a penny towards any bills, she worked for him, for free, and felt that she owned half the house, they have only been paying on it for a year... how do you get half of 130000$ out of that?? She also says she loves him and isn't willing to give up on 7 years. He tried to explain to her that it's not just her decision and that staying there is not going to make him love her and want to be with her. Obviously he doesn't want to have to go through a long court battle as lawyers are expensive and with a baby coming in a few months he doesn't want to be completely broke. He was hoping to settle it civily.

[looking_for_help]

After a X period of years of living together in a romantic relationship with no marriage is called cohabitation and in Quebec she gets nothing that is if they lived the whole 7 years in Quebec, under the law she gets about half of everything if any of the following apply;
Taken from this site http://www.pension.ca/Common.htm
Jurisdiction Criteria for Common-Law Spouse

Alberta, Quebec no common-law spouse entitlement

P.E.I., N.W.T. to support

British Columbia 2 years of cohabitation

Manitoba 5 years of cohabitation and substantial dependence between people involved, or, 1 year of cohabitation and a child

New Brunswick 3 years of cohabitation and substantial dependence

Newfoundland 1 year of cohabitation and a child

Nova Scotia 1 year of cohabitation

Ontario 3 years of cohabitation, or child and a relationship of some permanence

Saskatchewan 3 years of cohabitation, or child and relationship of some permanence

Yukon a relationship of some permanence

if none apply kick her out and get on with your life but just in case check out this site too http://www.common-law-separation-can...ion-Canada.htm and do more research because it can be a tricky topic

[looking_for_help]

Oh and I forgot the under the table thing really bad for him as an employer way worse then for her won't be a pick nick for her either she will most likely get fined for tax evasion, but his whole business will be audited about 6 years back, and fined as well for tax evasion but there could be even more like jail time depending on the type of work and how much business he did off the books. like i said there is a lot of research to be done because both are tricky topics.

(oh if he claims that he paid her out of his own pocket after he paid himself on the books(thus tax was deducted), and if played and worded correctly it's a loop hole to get around that off the books payment, since they were in a common law relationship it can be looked at as giving your partner extra spending money for helping you out with something if you are in charge of the money in the house)

[FL_Needs_To_Change]

I agree with your statement that if he paid her out of the money he paid himself, which was taxed, then it can be seen as an allowance for the work she helped him with. Generally it can be claimed that spouses would contribute to the business, once all the bills and employees are paid, and paid themselves, there are times when owners of a business work for free, for the good of the business.

This may be the only area where she may have a small claim. That she helped with his business and wants to be compensated for that contribution.
If he shows that he in fact did pay her out of his income then
I think he will be ok with respect to the government and Family Law court.

[Karen]

Hmmm I don't know if he pays himself on the books, I'll have to mention that to him. I do know however that anything she needed when they were together he paid for or gave her the money for, clothes, medicine, whatever she wanted/needed, etc.
Thank you so much for all your help it's very much appreciated. I hope we can get this resolved soon, winter is fast approaching, as is January. He will be here in a few hours so I'll show him all these posts. If anyone thinks of anything else please let me know, again thank you all ALOT!!