The marital home is defined in Article 18(1) of the Family Law as “any property in which a person has an interest and which, at the time of separation, was habitually occupied by the person and his or her spouse as a family residence or, if the spouses have separated, was habitually occupied”. It is important to note that only married spouses are allowed to have a marital home. Unmarried parties, including common-law parties, are not covered by this section of the Family Law Act. It is also important to know that while any gift from a third party to a spouse, such as an inheritance, is generally excluded from the calculation of a spouse`s net worth at the time of separation, if the gift is placed in the marital home to pay off or renovate the mortgage, for example, the exclusion is lost. If you are planning to get married and already own a home, you should seek legal advice to determine if you should take steps to protect the value of the home in the event of a marriage breakdown. Spouses may have more than one matrimonial home. Spouses who regularly live in a traditional house, but have a cottage where they spend time regularly, may have two matrimonial homes. The key is that the spouses must live regularly in the second property for it to be considered a marital home. For example, property that is jointly owned by the spouses, but leased to third parties at all times, is unlikely to be considered a matrimonial home.
In most cases, children are allowed to live in the marital home and this is stated in the order. Exclusive ownership orders are usually temporary and are supposed to apply until the couple has entered into a legally binding separation agreement. Second homes, such as holiday homes or holiday properties, are often considered marital homes. The question of who should retain the marital home is the subject of divorce proceedings. The concept of “matrimonial home” applies only to married spouses and not to common-law partners. The family residence is considered a marital home, even if it belongs to one of the spouses in his or her name alone. It is also possible to have more than one marital home at the time of separation. For example, family homes may be considered matrimonial homes if certain requirements are met. The marital home is the legal term used to describe the family home where the spouses lived shortly before the date of separation.
If you and your spouse regularly use more than one home together, each home can be considered a matrimonial home. An additional marital home may therefore include a holiday home or cottage or simply another home in another location. Expertise > family law > divorce and separation > marital home Unlike other property, the spouse who owned the dwelling before the marriage does not receive a credit for the equity in the home he or she contributed to the marriage when determining the payment of the indemnity of one of the spouses if one of the spouses brings the “matrimonial home” into the marriage and the same dwelling is still the matrimonial home at the time separation. The other. This legal exception may have a significant financial impact on the calculation of compensation. Only if the original dwelling is sold and a new marital home exists at the time of separation can the spouse who brought the original dwelling into the marriage include the value of the original dwelling in the calculation of his or her property at the time of marriage. Properties that are considered a matrimonial home are factually specific and based on factors such as whether the parties are married, both parties have used the apartment regularly, and whether the property is used for residential purposes. The court may make an order granting the spouse exclusive possession of the marital home or part of it for a period ordered by the court. Without a court order, a spouse, even if he or she is the sole registered owner of the property, does not have the right to force another spouse to leave the marital home if the marriage breaks down.
The goal of MatrimonialHome.com is to help you understand your divorce rights and get advice at an early stage. Elliot S. Birnboim, Senior Litigator in downtown Toronto, can provide a practical roadmap to make sure your divorce is fair. It often starts with an understanding of how your matrimonial home rights affect your divorce. Exclusive possession orders, as the name suggests, prevent the other spouse from entering matrimonial property. A prescription can be obtained for most types of properties, including houses, condos and apartments. These orders do not determine who owns the property or who has rights under a lease. Exclusion from the marital home does not affect your property rights. However, if the marital home is leased, there may be other legal requirements that need to be addressed. If one spouse wishes to sell or pledge the marital home, he or she needs the written consent of the other spouse, even if the other spouse is not listed on the title.
Otherwise, a court order is required. The spouses can waive their matrimonial rights under the separation agreement. If one spouse attempts to transfer the matrimonial property without consent or a court order, the court may decide that the transfer or sale is not valid. These are just some of the complex considerations that arise with respect to the marital home when a marriage fails. The evolution of these problems requires careful planning and strategic thinking. There is no substitute for appropriate, experienced and early legal advice. The rules of family law stipulate that both spouses have the same right to possession of a marital home. This right also exists if the ownership of the marital home is registered in the name of only one of the spouses, although, in this case, the right of possession of the other spouse vis-à-vis the titled spouse is personal – that is, the right can only be invoked against the spouse who has ownership of the property – and terminates, if the couple ceases to be a spouse. A marital home can also be property located in another country.
For example, in the case where the spouses own a beach house in Bermuda that is only used for four months of the year, that house may be considered a matrimonial home. The rules set out in the law are particularly important if one of the spouses owned the dwelling before marriage and continues to be a matrimonial home at the time of separation. Even if one spouse owned the matrimonial home before the marriage, the full value of the household must be shared with the other spouse at the time of separation. Therefore, the spouse who owned the dwelling before the marriage does not have the right to keep or have taken into account the value of the dwelling calculated at the time of the marriage. This is not the case for most other types of property, where the spouse who owned it before the marriage is credited with a value based on its value at the time of marriage. In many cases, only one spouse is named as the owner of the property. However, in some cases, due to family circumstances, the dwelling may even be registered in the name of the parents of one of the spouses or other third parties. This does not mean that the property is not a marital home. The treatment of these situations, where the ownership of the marital home is in the name of a third party, requires special attention and consideration with an experienced legal advisor. If the spouses do not have a marriage contract stipulating what happens to the marital home after the marriage breaks down, the special provisions of the Family Law Act apply. Regardless of the name of the deed, it is assumed that each spouse has an equal interest in the marital home.
If the spouses owned more than one matrimonial home, the value of each of these dwellings must be attributed equally to each of the spouses at the time of separation. Normally, if ownership of the property is held in a shared apartment and one of the roommates dies, the other roommate receives full ownership of the property under the Survivors Act. However, under family law, survivors` rights do not apply if one of the spouses dies while having an interest in a matrimonial home as a roommate with a third person and not with the surviving spouse.