Do Common-Law Partners Share Property After a Breakup in Manitoba?

When a common-law relationship ends, one of the first worries is the home, the savings and who keeps what. Many people assume that living together is enough to share everything equally. In Manitoba, the answer depends on whether you meet a legal definition.

This article explains who counts as a common-law partner for property purposes, what gets divided, how the rules differ if you don't qualify, and the deadlines to watch. It is general information, not advice on your situation.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

Who counts as a common-law partner for property?

Manitoba does not use one definition everywhere. The Family Property Act defines a common-law partner as a person who registered a common-law relationship under The Vital Statistics Act, or who cohabited in a conjugal relationship for at least three years.

The Family Law Act, which deals with matters like spousal support, is broader. It also covers people who lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year if they are together the parents of a child. Whether that one-year shortcut also applies to a property claim in your case depends on the facts and is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Registering with the Vital Statistics Agency is voluntary.

What the sharing rules do

Once you meet the definition, common-law partners are covered by the equal-sharing accounting under The Family Property Act on the same footing as spouses. Each spouse and common-law partner has the right, on application, to an accounting and an equalization of assets. The combined value is generally divided into two equal shares unless the court orders otherwise.

There is an exception for older relationships. The Act generally excludes couples who had cohabited three years and separated before section 2.1 came into force, unless they resumed cohabiting and registered, or cohabited at least 90 days after that date. If your separation was long ago, ask a lawyer how this applies.

Which assets are divided, and when can sharing change?

The Act separates assets into two groups. A family asset is something owned by one or both partners and used for shelter, transportation, or household, educational, recreational, social or aesthetic purposes, including the family home and certain savings or chequing accounts. A commercial asset is any asset that is not a family asset.

• For family assets, a court may change equal sharing only if equalization would be grossly unfair or unconscionable.
• For commercial assets, the threshold is lower: the court asks whether equal sharing would be clearly inequitable, considering things like length of cohabitation, length of separation and any agreement.
• Conduct is generally disregarded unless it amounts to dissipation of assets.
• You have two years from a transfer or dissipation, or from its discovery, to challenge dissipation or excessive gifts.

The family home, agreements and what if you don't qualify

Separate from property sharing, The Homesteads Act protects the family home. It applies to married persons and persons in common-law relationships, and the rights exist whether or not the non-owner is on title. An owner generally cannot dispose of the homestead during their lifetime without the spouse's or common-law partner's written consent in the prescribed form. A partner with homestead rights may register a homestead notice in the land titles office, which blocks registration of a disposition until it is vacated or discharged.

If you and your partner signed a common-law relationship agreement, it can matter a great deal. The Act does not apply to an asset disposed of by such an agreement, and an agreement can make provisions inapplicable or vary how they apply. Assets the agreement does not address remain subject to the Act.

If you do not meet the definition, the equal-sharing accounting described above is not available on the same footing. What other options you may have depends on your situation, so it is worth discussing with a lawyer.

Deadlines and what to do next

Property claims go to the Court of King's Bench. The applicant must file and serve a sworn statement of assets and liabilities, and the other person has 14 days to respond with a similar statement. The court may make interim orders.

For common-law partners, the time limit is 60 days from registration of the dissolution if the relationship was registered, or three years from when you began to live separate and apart if it was not. For married spouses, the limit is 60 days after the divorce becomes absolute or takes effect, with the court able to extend it in specified circumstances.

• Write down when you began living together and when you separated.
• Find out whether you ever registered the relationship.
• Gather statements, titles, tax returns and any written agreement.
• List family assets and commercial assets separately.
• Speak with a family lawyer early, because the time limits are short.

Frequently asked questions