Can You Reconcile After Separating in BC Without Restarting the Separation Date?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
Yes, you can try again, but the rules differ depending on what you are asking about. For dividing property under the Family Law Act, you are treated as not having separated if, within one year after separating, you start living together again with the primary purpose of reconciling and stay together for one or more periods totalling at least 90 days.
If you live together for less than 90 days in total, or your main purpose was not to reconcile, that rule does not apply and your original separation date stands for property division. A different rule applies to divorce: the Divorce Act says resumed living together for periods totalling no more than ninety days does not interrupt the period of separation. Divorce also needs at least one year of separation before the court will grant it. If you already have an agreement or order dividing property and later live together and separate again, Part 5 does not affect that earlier division.
Separation can also happen under one roof, so how you live together matters. Because the separation date can matter for deadlines and property, it is worth confirming your situation with a lawyer before moving back in.
Key takeaways
- For property division, living together again for at least 90 days in total within one year of separating, with the primary purpose of reconciling, means you are treated as not having separated.
- If you live together for less than 90 days, or reconciling was not your primary purpose, your original separation date stands for property division.
- The Divorce Act has its own, different rule: resumed living together for periods totalling no more than ninety days does not interrupt the period of separation.
- A property division made under an agreement or order is not affected if you later live together and then separate again.