Defining Relationships: Common Law Marriage in Ontario

For a common law marriage in Ontario to be recognized, you need to be in a relationship and have lived together with your partner for about three years. The relationship needs to be of conjugal form and the couple needs to prove themselves to be in an intimate and romantic relationship.

In this way, we can identify couples that live together as roommates or have simply lived together for many years. Common law couples are only entitled to rights if they are legally married and should not be exploited.

Legal issues and taxes come into play when it comes to common-law marriage. Even though domestic partners do not have the same rights as married couples, they do get certain rights from being a recognized domestic couple.

In Ontario, a common law marriage is more than two people moving in together and living under one roof. If you are a couple but have never shared a household, then you might not meet the requirements to be considered common law.

Becoming a Common Law Couple

One of the most important things to consider is that you don’t instantly become a common law couple once you move in together. Staying in one household is the basis of a common law relationship but there needs to be more context.

Length of Living Together

You will need to live together for years before getting domestic partner status. This also goes for couples who are in a relationship but choose to live apart. You and your partner should be living together if you want to gain common law rights.

It’s not enough to call someone your partner if you are not spending time together. Family law will require that you submit proof that you are in cohabitation and are supporting each other as a couple and not as close friends.

Tax and Health Care Benefits

In taxes, for example, it is required for common law couples to be living together for a minimum of a year. If you need the extended benefits of your partner’s health care, you will need to live together for more than a year. This, on the other hand, will also depend on what is stated in the policy.

It's not always the same for every couple’s situation, which is why you need to check your province’s laws as well as your policies to be sure. Some might require a longer period of living together for domestic partners in other areas.

Issues About Separation

If there are differences between benefits for married and domestic partners, it goes the same for separation. There is no divorce for common law couples because they never went into marriage in the first place. What you have is a separation agreement.

Your separation agreement will be your basis for leaving your partner for good. This means you no longer live together nor do you intend on continuing an intimate relationship with them. The separation agreement cuts your conjugal ties and you can legally have another partner moving forward.

This is an important document, especially when you have children and want child custody. Contrary to divorce, the requirements imposed on married and domestic couples for child custody and child support are the same.

That means you will have to fight a custody battle when you and your partner can’t settle on who takes care of your kids. The same goes with child support; you will have to take it to family court once your partner refuses to offer child support.

About Spousal Support

Married couples automatically gain spousal support when they divorce. This is not true for common law partners because there are certain criteria that you have to meet. The family law firm will have to review your case to see if your partner should be liable to support you once you separate.

One rule is to be in a conjugal relationship with each other for around three years and have a child together. Whether the child you have is born or adopted, they are still accepted as your kids by family law.

Separation and Claim for Support

There can be complex cases when couples get separated because of incarceration, hospitalization, or education and fear of their common law status being dissolved. Usually, cases like these are decided by family court, but in general, the domestic partner status stays as long as the couple has already been living together previously.

Being separated for less than 90 days is the limit for the common law status to stay. Anything more than that can get offices to question the viability of your relationship. If you are separated for longer than the minimum number of days with no legitimate reason, then you are no longer seen by the court as being subject to common law.

Does Living Apart Affect Common Law Status?

Plenty of younger couples live apart but stay in a relationship; however, this could come into conflict with family law. In general, they won’t accept this as enough proof of being domestic partners. You will need to submit more proof to prove your case.

The great thing about cohabitation in Canada is that domestic partnerships are known as the de facto type. That means couples are generally seen as being in a conjugal relationship but will need to offer specifics about their relationship when they want to be legally called common law.

The Specifics of Being in a Common Law Relationship

Marriage, on the other hand, is a de jure relationship, which means it’s a relationship that’s clearly defined based on Canadian law. Common law relationships will have to look into the specifics of a couple’s relationship before defining that it is domestic.

You don’t have to go through marriage to have domestic relationships. Being together for several years or having children together is enough, as long as the proof you’ve sent to family court is acceptable. You can always talk to a local family attorney whenever you wish to know more about how common law marriage in Ontario works.