Question:
My boyfriend and I live together in a great condo in Davisville. I own the condo and we’ve been living there for 4 years. We just had a pretty ugly breakup and I am thinking about selling the condo and using the equity to fund a ‘soul searching’ trip around the world for a year. Does my boyfriend have any right to the proceeds of my condo since we’ve been living together so long?
Answer:
Since you and your boyfriend are not married, but have lived together continuously for over three years, you are “common law spouses” according to the Family Law Act. In the previous edition of Legal Corner I described spouses’ rights in respect of the “matrimonial home” (i.e. both spouses have an equal right to possession of the matrimonial home). The matrimonial home provisions of the Family Law Act only apply to married spouses and do not apply to common law spouses. Since you are the sole title holder to the condo, you have the right to dispose of it as you wish. That being said, you should be aware that common law spouses have other entitlements in respect of one another, including potential claims for spousal support and/or a trust interest in property in certain circumstances.