Downpayment on House

[lurch2465]

Say a spouse had $20,000 before marriage, and was then used as a down payment on the martrimonial home. The marriage is not common law. Is the spouse entitled to get all of it back when figuring out an equalization payment. What ever the outcome, could you direct me to where in the divorce act etc it is indicated as such
Thanks

[standing on the sidelines]

Say a spouse had $20,000 before marriage, and was then used as a down payment on the martrimonial home. The marriage is not common law. Is the spouse entitled to get all of it back when figuring out an equalization payment. What ever the outcome, could you direct me to where in the divorce act etc it is indicated as such
Thanks

sorry unless there was an agreement signed that specifically said the person gets the amount of money they put down back in the event of a separation then you cannot get it back. I went through this earlier this year.

[ddol1]

Even stronger was that, sorry as a third party, waas informed that even if a prenup signed away the rights to the matramonial home - the odds were near 100% a judge would not allow this, quash at least that provision in the agreement and grant the rights to both spouses as stated in the Family Law Act (May also come in the Ontario Divorce Act - but it has been a few months since reading this doc).

No matter under what condition funds were put into the matramonial home, the home value is divided 50/50. As far as the exact clause in the act perhaps someone knows this off the top of thier head.....

I would suggest that this is asking others to do work that could be done by the poster directly. Read the documents yourself! You will also find a wealth of other info with respect to what is happening and the only way to begin this journey IMHO is to read and do their best to understand or get help with the translation if language is an issue.

[lurch2465]

I've been looking at the family law act, asking around and looking at other lawyer based advice websites. I am still not clear if the money had before the marriage is used as a deduction in the table 3 of the net family property statement form13b when the equalization payment is figured out. Will they receive all of it back. From the lawyer advice websites, I am getting yes and no. It doesn't make sense that money put towards the matrimonial home is not divided. I am so confused. I'll keep looking in the mean time. Any other help would be appreciated

[MiViLaLoco]

I successfully argued this very point with my ex.

I purchase the home myself before we met each other and were married. I was the only one ever on title and mortgage throughout our whole marriage. I paid $50,000 as a down payment and had complete documentation to show the money trail.

When we separated I argued that 100% of the down payment I used should be taken off the "equity" owed as if it wasn't then I'd be paying 1/2 of the downpayment again to my ex and he would be unjustly enriched to the tune of $25,000.00.

Now...when we first started negotiating I also asked for 100% of my downpayment to be paid back to me as he was wanting to buy me out of the home. Again...he paid $0 towards the downpayment...and the $50,000 of the equity in the home was a direct result of the downpayment.

Now, if we had both contributed to the down payment I'd have argued that 1/2 of the original downpayment should be removed, or added, for the same reasons.

His lawyer said I made a fair arguement and that the amounts weren't really worth fighting over as I had strong documentation and it could go either way in court. My lawyer was amazed I'd taken the approach I did.

It is important to note that both our lawyers advised in the beginning that if we were willing to negotiate with each other we really could do whatever we wanted as long as the end result was "fair" for both parties. It was "not easy" by any stretch of the imagination. But our main goal was not spending our son's, or our, futures on lawyers and we constantly reminded each other of that. We each had independent advice and both our lawyers were impressed with just how much we were willing to negotiate with each other in order to save lawyer fees...lol They both said they'd really never seen anything like it before and that the end result was one of the fairest division of assets they'd seen, and that it was a pleasure working with us...lol.

[007]

I am not sure on this, but I heared if you inherit money and you do not use it for the matrimonial home, like put it in a bank account it is not part of the equalization. What you bring into the marriage is on your plus side and I guess you then owe the other party the difference in the plus and minus. Like I said, not sure on the second part. Not much help am I?

[ddol1]

the principles are easy and in the section of the family law act dealing with the matramonial home. That said, anything negotiated is just that - if you are smart you can sell swamp land.

Matramonial home (means you are married) regardless of circumstance who paid what, when it was paid, how it was paid. It all does not matter one bit as the matramonial home is the only topic, section, item that is treated in this fashion...... and fair has nothing to do with it.

You are married - the matramonial home by family law is instantly divided 50/50 between the spouses - there is nothing to look at nothing to negotiate.

50/50 split in the value of the home at the date of seperation (less 50/50 any outstanding loans on the property) - Period. Any Family Law Lawyer who allowed this right to be negotiated away from thier client DID NOT DO THIER JOB AS A FAMILY LAW LAWYER!!!! __PERIOD! that is how straight forward the law is re the matramonial home. After that rights are what you brought into the union is deducted from the net worth of each spouse at date of seperation (add in the loans and credit card debt ect. in that and you have net family property. !/2 the difference goes to the lower spouse - period. Then if you are a great negotiator and there are some other pressures present that motivates one party to relinquish thier property rights - could the moral of this is "you do not lose if you try.... as long as you do not push it and then lose where you would then be held responsable to costs for more than just yours.......

Inherit money - it has a chance of being excluded from the final net property of that spouse (deduct the value of the inheritance from your property total then do the equalization split. Again the rules (near 4(1) to 5(6)h) will be more than what you need to read but between these sections you will read the exact subsection that covers your exact circumstance and you will learn what the ruling of the court SHOULD be - it is drilled over and over that family law isn't cut and dry - it never is. You can never count those chicks before they hatch!

[lurch2465]

Thanks for the help so far by everybody. ddol1 indicates "what you brought into the union is deducted from the net worth of each spouse at date of seperation". On paper, form 13b, net family property statement, table 3 subsection (a), when filling out property items, it states "Net value on date of marriage of property(other than a matrimonial home) after deducting debuts or other liabilities on date of marriage(other than those relating directly to the purchase or significant improvement of a matrimonial home)". In interpretation, does this not exclude the downpayment from being deducted because it was used for the matrimonial home.


rules 4(1) to 5(6)h points out "property" which under the glossary refers to land. In those rules as well is an exclusion in my interpretation, stated as such, "than debts or liabilities related directly to the acquisition or significant improvement of a matrimonial home". Again the downpayment is used on the matrimonial home.


Maybe I missing something, but it sounds like to me, that anything that is put into or used for the matrimonial home gets split between the two spouses even before the marriage. I understand that the assests during the marriage are split. Again, thanks to everyone replying to this.

[torontonian]

Inherited money BEFORE marriage is "returned" to its owner (or excluded/deducted whatever the right legal term is) before the MH is split 50/50 (along with mortgage debts etc).