If we sell the matrimonial home, how are the proceeds related to equalization in Ontario?

Selling the matrimonial home is often the central financial event in a separation. The net proceeds — after paying off the mortgage, real estate fees, and closing costs — go to the seller (typically both spouses if they co-own it). How those proceeds factor into equalization depends on how the parties structure their settlement.

In many cases, spouses treat the home sale as the vehicle for satisfying the equalization payment. For example, if the equalization payment owed is $100,000, the spouses may agree that one takes $100,000 more from the proceeds and the other takes $100,000 less, with everything else split equally. This is an offset approach that avoids requiring cash payment separate from the sale.

If only one spouse is on title, the other may still have equalization rights to a share of the value, which must be resolved either by selling the home and dividing appropriately or by the titled spouse buying out the other. Courts can order sale of the home if the parties cannot agree.