Common Law Seperation

[mississauganative]

I have a question regarding my common law seperation.

I bought my house in 2001 with my mother for $176,000. In 2003 my partner and I had a child together, and he bought out my mother's share of the house for $30,000 in 2004. My mother and I remained on the mortgage, but he and I are on title, and he pays half of the mortgage. He also did some renovations to the bathroom and upgraded the furnace, improvements costing about $10,000.

We seperated in February 2005 and he moved out. He continues payments on the house.

Our mortgage is up for renewal this April and I want to buy him out. How do we calculate what he is entitled to?

Thanks,
Mississauganative

[logicalvelocity]

mississauganative,

I suspect he may be entitled to 50% of the value at separation as it was the matrimonial home.

[Lindsay]

Hi mississauganative,

The issue of possession of the matrimonial home doesn't exist in common law situations. Common law couples do not have the same property rights as married couples. In the separation of a married couple, the matrimonial home would get special treatment and would be divided equally between the parties, even if only one party is on title and even if the home was purchased before the date of marriage. On the other hand, with common law separations, if only one party is on title, the homeowner could simply change the locks and refuse entry of the other party.

In your case, your spouse has a 50% interest in the house. This is because he is on title (not because the property is a matrimonal home).

Please check out the following site on common law separations:

http://www.common-law-separation-canada.com/

Lindsay