What Is a Common-Law Spouse Entitled to When Separating in Ontario?

When a common-law relationship ends, many people assume they have the same rights as a married spouse. In Ontario that is often not the case, and the differences matter most when it comes to property. At the same time, you may have real claims for support, for your children and sometimes for money you put into your partner's property.

This article sets out, in plain language, what a separating common-law partner can generally claim and what they generally cannot. Your own situation will turn on the facts, so treat this as a map of the issues rather than a prediction.

First question: are you a spouse for the claim you want to make?

For support claims under the Family Law Act, an unmarried person is a spouse if the couple cohabited continuously for a period of not less than three years. To cohabit means to live together in a conjugal relationship, whether within or outside marriage.

Both parts matter: the relationship has to be conjugal and you have to be living together. A court has accepted that there needs to be some element of living together under the same roof, but also that lacking a shared residence is not decisive, and the factors are weighed together.

Ontario's spousal support page also says a common-law partner may be entitled to support if they were in a relationship of some permanence for any length of time and had a child together. Other laws use different tests, as the table shows.

Support: spousal and child

Spousal support is not automatic. A claimant must show a relationship responsibility that kept them from building their own career, a financial need after separation that the other spouse can meet, or a legal agreement providing for support. A court may also consider age, health and childcare needs.

Support can be set by a negotiated separation agreement, by a separation agreement filed with the court and registered with the Family Responsibility Office (Form 26B), or by a court application where a judge decides the amount and how long it lasts.

Child support is based on the number of children, the province where the paying parent lives and the paying parent's annual income. Updated federal tables apply to all Ontario child support matters starting October 1, 2025. The paying parent must give the other parent proof of income every year, and special expenses such as orthodontics, prescriptions, sports fees and child care are shared.

Property: where common-law couples differ most

Common-law couples are not legally required to split property acquired while living together. Furniture, household items and other property belong to the person who bought them. They also do not have the right to split the increase in value of property brought into the relationship, because the equal-split rule for married spouses does not apply to them.

That does not mean you are left with nothing. A partner who contributed to property the other partner owns may have a right to part of it. Unless the other partner agrees to pay the contribution back, you may have to go to court to recover it. Whether you have such a claim, and how it would be valued, depends on the facts and is worth confirming with a lawyer.

• Likely yours: items you bought yourself.
• Possible claim: money or work you put into property your partner owns.
• Not available: the married-spouse equal split of property.
• Different if you signed one: a cohabitation agreement setting out property rights.

Children, housing and what happens if a partner dies

Decision-making responsibility is the right to make significant decisions about a child's health, education, religion and other important matters, and it may be sole or joint. Parenting time is the time a child spends in a parent's care. In a parenting order the judge must act in the child's best interests and must consider family violence and the child's current living arrangements.

On housing, the rules depend on whether you rent or own. For a rental, an unmarried partner counts as a spouse under the Residential Tenancies Act only if the relationship is conjugal and one of three things is true: at least one year of cohabitation, a child together, or a cohabitation agreement. A spouse not named on the tenancy agreement may not be a tenant. If a tenant leaves without notice and the spouse stays in the unit as their principal residence, the spouse becomes a tenant, subject to exceptions. Rights connected to a home you own are a separate question to raise with a lawyer.

Finally, a common-law spouse does not inherit under Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act if the other partner dies without a will. If that worries you, a will is something to discuss with a lawyer.

What to do next

• Write down the date you started living together and any periods apart.
• Collect proof of who paid for what: receipts, bank statements, title and mortgage documents.
• Gather both partners' recent tax returns and notices of assessment.
• Note your children's current living arrangements.
• Check whether you signed a cohabitation agreement or a lease, and who is named on each.
• Speak with a family lawyer before signing anything or moving out, so you know which claims apply to you.

Frequently asked questions