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3/18/2014
VerifiedThank you for your question. My goal is to provide you with the best possible answer.
To achieve that goal it may be that I will find that I need to gather further information from you. As well, it's quite possible that you may feel the need to ask me additional questions for further clarification.
But, please understand that as a careful lawyer I will always give you an honest answer even if the answer is sometimes not what you were hoping for.
In Ontario common law spouses share some but not all of the legal rights and obligations that legally married spouses do if their relationship breaks down.
They do not share property rights. However, if you contributed to the value of property in your spouse's name, either through financial contribution or effort, you may have a claim for a portion of the value of the asset.
So what the Court will look at is the value of your contributions.
So cooking does not add to the value of the property. But renovations do. So if you paid for the renovations and did them by hand this would be considered by the court.
The Court would consider that you made a down payment.
And the Court would consider other payments you made so long as those payments were above what you would have paid for fair market value rent.
So it would make sense to add up all you paid, subtract what you would have paid for rent and then compare that to what your spouse paid towards the house.
Then you will get a good idea of what interest a Court may order you are entitled to.
To achieve that goal it may be that I will find that I need to gather further information from you. As well, it's quite possible that you may feel the need to ask me additional questions for further clarification.
But, please understand that as a careful lawyer I will always give you an honest answer even if the answer is sometimes not what you were hoping for.
In Ontario common law spouses share some but not all of the legal rights and obligations that legally married spouses do if their relationship breaks down.
They do not share property rights. However, if you contributed to the value of property in your spouse's name, either through financial contribution or effort, you may have a claim for a portion of the value of the asset.
So what the Court will look at is the value of your contributions.
So cooking does not add to the value of the property. But renovations do. So if you paid for the renovations and did them by hand this would be considered by the court.
The Court would consider that you made a down payment.
And the Court would consider other payments you made so long as those payments were above what you would have paid for fair market value rent.
So it would make sense to add up all you paid, subtract what you would have paid for rent and then compare that to what your spouse paid towards the house.
Then you will get a good idea of what interest a Court may order you are entitled to.
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