How Long Must You Live Together to Be Common-Law in Manitoba?

Many Manitoba couples live together for years without marrying and then wonder when the law starts treating them like spouses. The honest answer is that it depends on which law you are asking about and on your family situation.

This article explains the time periods, the registration option and the shortcut for couples with a child. It also explains why the same couple can meet one definition and not another. It is general information, not advice on your own facts.

This article covers the law of Manitoba.

The basic rule under The Family Law Act

The Family Law Act defines a common-law partner as a person who is not married to the other person and who has cohabited with them in a conjugal relationship for at least three years. Whether your relationship counts as conjugal depends on the facts of your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer if you are unsure.

There are two routes that shorten or replace the three-year period. The first is having a child together, and the second is registering your relationship.

The shortcuts: a child or registration

• Three years of cohabiting in a conjugal relationship.
• One year of cohabiting in a conjugal relationship if you are together the parents of a child.
• Registering a common-law relationship under The Vital Statistics Act, with no waiting period named in the definition.

Manitoba guidance says partners who registered, or who lived together one year with a child or three years without one, have the same rights under The Family Law Act as married spouses. Those rights include the duties around spousal support.

Under The Family Law Act, spouses have a mutual duty to contribute reasonably to each other's support, and after separation each spouse must take all reasonable steps to become financially independent of the other. On application, a court may order one spouse to provide support for the other, and it must consider all the circumstances, including the length of the relationship, roles during cohabitation, financial means and needs. Housekeeping, child care or other domestic service performed for the family counts as a contribution.

Registration is voluntary

Registering a common-law relationship with the Vital Statistics Agency is voluntary. You do not have to register to be treated as common-law partners if you meet the cohabitation test. Registration can still give a clear, documented starting point, which some couples find useful if they ever need to prove their status.

If you are unsure whether you ever registered, or you want to know what registering would change for your situation, it is worth asking a lawyer before you decide.

Why the answer can differ by statute

Manitoba does not use one definition for every purpose. The Family Law Act has its own definition, and The Family Property Act and The Homesteads Act each have separate definitions of a common-law partner. Which test applies to you depends on the law involved and on the details of your situation, so confirm it with a lawyer before relying on any one time period.

For property, common-law partners are covered by the equal-sharing accounting on the same footing as spouses once they meet the definition in The Family Property Act. Exactly which time periods that definition uses for your situation is worth confirming with a lawyer. There is an exception for couples who had lived together three years and separated before section 2.1 came into force, unless they resumed cohabiting and either registered or cohabited at least 90 days after that date.

Time limits also differ for common-law partners. A property application generally cannot be made more than 60 days after a divorce takes effect, but for common-law partners the limit is 60 days from registration of the dissolution if the relationship was registered, or three years from when they began to live separate and apart if it was not.

The Homesteads Act applies to people in common-law relationships as well as married persons. An owner may not dispose of the homestead during their lifetime unless the spouse or common-law partner consents in writing in the prescribed form.

What to do next

• Write down the date you began living together in a marriage-like relationship, and any dates you lived apart.
• Note whether you have a child together and when the child was born.
• Check whether you ever registered with the Vital Statistics Agency.
• Gather lease, mortgage, tax and benefit records that show you lived together.
• If a separation, support claim or property question is coming up, speak with a lawyer about which definition applies to you.

Because the tests differ, the date you became common-law for support may not be the date you became common-law for property.

Frequently asked questions