How to Fill Out a Net Family Property Statement in Ontario

If you are separating, you may need to set out your finances in a net family property statement. It looks like a form full of boxes, but it follows a simple logic: what you owned and owed at three points in time, and what the law lets you leave out.

This guide walks through the sections in the order most people work through them. It explains the rules behind the numbers rather than the layout of any particular form, so use it alongside the blank statement and your own records. A lawyer or accountant can help with anything complex.

Understand the formula first

Your net family property is the value of all the property you own on the valuation date, except property excluded under section 4(2) of the Family Law Act, less your debts and liabilities. The statement then deducts the value of property you owned on the date of marriage, other than a matrimonial home.

Once both spouses have worked out their figures, the spouse with the lesser net family property is entitled to one-half the difference between the two. That is the default rule. Every figure you enter therefore affects the final payment.

Step 1: The date of marriage section

List what you owned and what you owed on the date of marriage, with a value for each item as of that day. Think of bank accounts, vehicles, pensions, investments, real estate and debts such as loans or credit cards.

The deduction applies to property, other than a matrimonial home, owned on the date of marriage. A matrimonial home is property in which a person has an interest and which the person and spouse ordinarily occupied as their family residence at separation. If a home you brought into the marriage is still the matrimonial home at separation, you cannot deduct its marriage-date value. If it was sold before separation, the marriage-date value is deductible.

Gather statements from around the wedding date. If you cannot find exact records, a lawyer can explain how to document values you must estimate.

Step 2: The valuation date section

Next, list everything you own on the valuation date and the debts you owe on that date. Include property in your name alone, your share of joint property and any property you have an interest in. Net family property counts the value of all property you own, less debts and liabilities.

• Real estate, including the matrimonial home.
• Bank accounts, investments and registered accounts.
• Pensions and similar benefits.
• Vehicles, business interests and valuable personal items.
• Debts and liabilities, such as mortgages, loans and lines of credit.

How to value specific items, such as a business or a pension, depends on the facts and often needs professional help. Do not guess at a figure you cannot support.

Step 3: Excluded property and deductions

Some property is excluded from net family property. A gift or inheritance from a third person received after the date of marriage is excluded, but the exclusion does not apply to a matrimonial home. Property that the spouses agreed in a domestic contract is not to be included is also excluded. Property into which gift or inheritance property can be traced may be excluded as well, again other than a matrimonial home.

Be careful not to count the same property twice. The same property cannot be both an excluded amount and a marriage-date deduction, and counting it in both places double-counts it in your favour.

What to do next

Treat the statement as an important financial document and aim for accuracy. Gather records first, then fill it in, then have it reviewed before you sign.

• Collect statements for the date of marriage, the valuation date and any dates in between.
• List every account, property and debt, including those in your name alone.
• Identify which property is the matrimonial home.
• Identify any gifts, inheritances and domestic contracts that may affect exclusions.
• Check that no item appears as both excluded property and a marriage-date deduction.
• Ask a family lawyer or accountant to review before you sign the statement.

Frequently asked questions