Most know that you don’t have to be legally married to have a “spouse” for income tax purposes, although legal marriage will work. If you have been living with someone in a conjugal relationship for 12 months or more regardless of your sex at birth, you will be considered spouses…
Category: Spouse
Total 78 Posts
In Ontario, the Family Law Act (“FLA”) regulates the division of property and the availability of spousal support on separation or death.
Each province in Canada establishes its own rules regarding the distribution of property where a person dies without a will. In Ontario, intestate succession is governed by Part II of the Succession Law Reform Act (the “SLRA”). Inheritance on intestacy is limited to married spouses and blood relations. If a…
Today’s blog was written by Tyler Lin, student-at-law with de VRIES LITIGATION LLP When a person passes away, what happens to those who were depending on them? In Ontario, the requirement to provide for your dependants does not end on death. Where the deceased has failed to leave adequate support…
As reported in the media[i] [ii] [iii], Nova Scotia’s appeals court recently heard a case involving a woman who is trying to stop her husband from receiving medical assistance in dying (MAiD). The woman is appealing a lower court decision that rejected her request for an interlocutory injunction against her…
The gratuitous transfer of property from a parent to an adult, capable child may result in a resulting trust.
Families often fall into patterns and routines; they are comfortable, stable, and predictable. They can also give rise to legal rights over land. The extent and enforceability of those rights will be put to the test following death or divorce. Such was the case in Tomek v Zabukovec, 2020 ONSC…
In past blogs, we discussed income splitting arrangements available to individuals who wish to loan funds to his/her lower income spouse or adult child, or in the case of minor children, a discretionary family trust. Such loans would be used to invest in income producing properties such as marketable securities,…
In a recent blog, I wrote about the availability of Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP) to an individual after the death of her spouse who purchased the matrimonial home. In a recent Technical Interpretation (2019-0819671E5, D. Odubella), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) was asked by a taxpayer to review the availability…
Leaving aside other means of severance, including that which occurs on bankruptcy or by judicial sale, there are three main ways to sever a joint tenancy: Unilaterally acting on one’s own share, such as selling or encumbering it; A mutual agreement between the co-owners to sever the joint tenancy; and…