SCOC - In Quebec Only Married Spouses Entitled to Support and Division of Assets

[Wetcoaster]

In a Supreme Court of Canada decision which highlights the difference between the civil law code of Quebec as compared to the rest of the country which are common law jurisdictions - in Quebec unless you are married do not expect to receive support and be entitled to a division marital assets.

In the rest of Canada the SCOC has ruled that the common law of equity (unjust enrichment) applied to situations where a couple had lived together for a period of time and it was a de facto marriage.

See for example Kerr v. Baranow, 2011 SCC 10, [2011] 1 S.C.R. 269 - a case that originated in BC. The Supreme Court of Canada endorsed the approach taken by Madam Justice Huddart in the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Wilson v. Fotsch, 2010 BCCA 226.

http://scc.lexum.org...m/7922/index.do

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that so-called common-law couples (MY NOTE - a misnomer BTW) in Quebec who split up are not entitled to the same rights as married couples when it comes to spousal support.

By a slim margin, the top court decision released Friday says the province's civil code is constitutional in its treatment of non-married couples who separate in cases involving alimony and the division of assets.

The decision means Quebec remains the only province that does not recognize common-law unions as de facto marriages.

The ruling has broad implications in a province where the 31.5 per cent of couples report being in de facto marriage relationships, versus an average of 12.1 per cent in the rest of Canada.

The so-called Lola vs. Eric case had been making its way through the court system for years. It involved a Quebec couple who never married, but lived together for seven years and shares three children.

A court order prevents the publication of the parties' real names.

$50M lump sum sought by woman

After separating, Lola sought spousal support, but Quebec's Civil Code provides no such provision for couples who are not legally married.

Lola had been seeking a $50-million lump-sum payment as well as $56,000 a month from her former spouse — a well-known Quebec business tycoon known in the case as Eric. Lola was 17 when she met the then 32-year-old entrepreneur.

The woman took her case to the Quebec Superior Court in 2009, when a judge rejected her claims, saying that under existing law, partners in a common-law relationship have no rights, duties and responsibilities to each other — no matter how many years they've lived together.

In November 2010, a Quebec Court of Appeal decision invalidated that section of the civil code, saying the law discriminates against unmarried couples, and the province was given one year to change the law.

The Quebec government described that ruling as a mistake, and appealed to the Supreme Court.

Nearly 1.4 million Quebecers are in common-law relationships, according to the 2011 census, and about 60 per cent of children are born to unmarried couples.

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...civil-code.html

BC is in the process of implementing significant changes to our family law and de facto marriages will be subject to the same considerations as legal marriages upon break-up.

Under the new law which is to come into force on Property division applies to married spouses and to unmarried spouses who have lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years. on November 24, 2011 the new BC Family Law Act received Royal Assent. Although the act is now law, some of it will not come into force immediately and will be phased in. The Family Law Act will come fully into force on March 18, 2013.

http://www.ag.gov.bc...y-law/index.htm

http://www.leg.bc.ca...ead/gov16-3.htm

Similar legislation has been passed or is in the process of being passed in most common law provinces.

[Aladeen]

Maybe she should be happy with her $35,000 a month!