Mamata Kreisler and her boyfriend are like many modern couples.
TheyB次元官网网址檝e lived together for the past two years, share a French Bulldog-Boston Terrier cross and recently bought a house in Saanich together.
They each have debt, prefer to keep separate bank accounts and, perhaps most tellingly, have trouble saying exactly when their dating life began.
B次元官网网址淗e was living with me and my roommate, sleeping on a couch, and then we started dating about six months later,B次元官网网址� she said.
But as of Monday, Kreisler and her partner now inadvertently hold a legal label they thought was years away from reality: married.
The new B.C. Family Law Act provides sweeping changes that will affect many of the 15,000 cohabiting couples in the Capital Region and more than 160,000 couples in the province.
B次元官网网址淚f you have lived in a marriage-like relationship for at least two years, the law now considers you a spouse,B次元官网网址� said Christine Murray, a partner at Victoria-based Cassels-Murray Family and Estates Law.
For the first time, common-law couples are subject to the same legal rights and responsibilities of married couples.
If a couple separates, any gains in assets or debt incurred during the relationship are now split down the middle, regardless of which partner owns them.
B次元官网网址淭hat property includes real estate, personal property, bank accounts, generally anything with value owned by one or both spouses at the date of separation,B次元官网网址� Murray said.
Property acquired before the relationship began, as well as gifts, inheritances and damage awards will still be protected from equal division.
B次元官网网址淚f it is a coupleB次元官网网址檚 intention to keep their property separate, theyB次元官网网址檒l have to enter into a written agreement to make sure they can have their intentions carried throughout their relationship,B次元官网网址� Murray said.
Some questions, such as whether or not both partners are responsible for the depreciation value of a home, will have to play out in court, she added. It could also be difficult to prove when a relationship began, as Kreisler and her partner illustrate with their roommate-to-romance situation.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not a clear-cut, black-and-white test,B次元官网网址� Murray said.
Despite the confusion for common-law couples, the Family Law Act is considered a progressive piece of legislation, extending property rights and child protection measures to B.C. families who are more commonly choosing not to get married. It also encourages couples to pursue non-court agreements for dispute resolution through arbitration, where the success rates can be as high as 80 per cent, said Keri Boyle, executive director of Mediate B.C.
B次元官网网址淵ou can go to court and have a judge tell you what the result is, or you can try a different process, which, in my experience, is going to be cheaper,B次元官网网址� she said.
Mediation and other forms of collaborative law can also preserve relationships more effectively than court battles, Boyle added.
B次元官网网址淪uccess needs to be measured by more than resolving the issues. If a couple comes out of the process with a relationship intact, thatB次元官网网址檚 much better for their children.B次元官网网址�
Time will tell whether the revised laws will ease the burden on the justice system, but Murray hopes couples will begin to have serious discussions early.
B次元官网网址淢aybe it will be a good thing and people will think about their living situations at the front end of their relationship, so they donB次元官网网址檛 have to do as much heavy lifting if that relationship ends.B次元官网网址�
Kreisler isnB次元官网网址檛 concerned with how the law chooses to label her relationship, and the idea of a cohabitation agreement doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense to her.
B次元官网网址淚 understand prenuptial agreements if one person is really rich and one isnB次元官网网址檛. It could be a concern going into a marriage,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淏ut thatB次元官网网址檚 not something either of us are worried about.B次元官网网址�
Learn more about the Family Law Act .
dpalmer@vicnews.com
