Moving in With a New Partner After Separation in Ontario

Moving in with a new partner is a big step, especially if your divorce or property settlement is not finished. People often ask whether it will end spousal support, create new obligations, or cause problems with their former spouse.

This article explains the general picture in Ontario. Some answers turn on the exact wording of your agreement or order, so treat this as a map of the questions to ask a lawyer rather than a final answer.

Does it affect your existing separation?

Your separation from your spouse is about the two of you. Spouses are treated as living separate and apart for any period they lived apart and either intended to. Moving in with someone else is not the same as resuming cohabitation with your former spouse.

For a divorce, the one-year separation ground requires that you have lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately before the divorce is determined. Reconciling with your spouse is different: resumed cohabitation totalling not more than 90 days with reconciliation as its primary purpose does not interrupt the period.

The valuation date for equalization is generally the date the spouses separate with no reasonable prospect of resuming cohabitation. How a new household affects your other property claims depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Spousal support when you cohabit

A court making a spousal support order shall not take into consideration any misconduct of a spouse in relation to the marriage. How a new relationship affects the amount of support depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

What matters is the wording of your agreement or order. If it says spousal support ends on the recipient's remarriage, it ends on that basis. Remarriage or the recipient becoming self-supporting may require updating the agreement or order. Whether moving in with a new partner ends support depends on the specific wording, so have it reviewed.

To vary a spousal support order, the court must be satisfied that a change in the condition, means, needs or other circumstances of either former spouse has occurred since the order was made or last varied. Only a court can change an order; the Family Responsibility Office cannot change its terms.

• Do not simply stop paying support because your ex has moved in with someone
• Do not assume you can stop support just because you received a payment from a new partner's household
• Look for any clause that ends or reviews support on specified events
• Ask a lawyer about varying the order if your circumstances have truly changed

New common-law status and new obligations

For support purposes under the Family Law Act, a spouse includes unmarried persons who have cohabited continuously for at least three years, or who are in a relationship of some permanence and are the natural or adoptive parents of a child. A new relationship could therefore create future support rights or obligations.

Property works differently. Common-law partners are not 'spouses' for Part I equalization, and they are not legally required to split property acquired while living together. Instead, they may choose a cohabitation agreement or separation agreement.

A cohabitation agreement must be signed by both partners in front of a witness, and the witness must also sign. Consider one before you pool finances or buy a home together.

Children, housing and pensions

Parents must support an unmarried minor child, or one in full-time education, to the extent they are capable. The factors include current and future means, capacity to contribute, age and health, and accustomed standard of living. Parenting arrangements are decided on the child's best interests.

If your new household involves a rental, remember that joint tenants share one tenancy agreement and are jointly and severally liable for the entire rent, so the landlord can look to either of them for all of it. Tenants in common each owe only their own share.

Canada Pension Plan credits can still be split after a separation, and a new partner or remarriage does not prevent applying. The split is permanent, and only credits earned during the cohabitation period are divided.

What to do next

Before you move in, or if you already have, take stock of your legal paperwork and finances.

• Re-read your separation agreement or order, especially the support clauses
• Check your deadlines: equalization applications are limited to the earliest of two years after divorce, six years after separation, or six months after a spouse's death
• Consider a cohabitation agreement with your new partner
• Keep your finances and your new partner's finances clearly documented
• Get legal advice before signing any agreement; it is recommended

Frequently asked questions