Are you curious what will happen to your wealth when your marriage comes to an end?
In Ontario, you must share the equity that you and your spouse collected during your marriage upon separation. Simply put, each of you adds up the total value of all your assets, less your debt, on the date of separation. You also get to deduct the assets less debt that you had on the date of marriage. The more assets you can prove you owned on the date of marriage; the more money you will save.
Whoever has more assets, pays the other to equalize it.
In other words, if you came into a marriage owning, a car, some RRSPs, maybe even some other property, those assets were not accumulated as a result of the marriage so you don’t have to share in the value of them with your spouse.
If the assets still exist on the date of separation, then any growth in their value is shared, since the increase in value occurred during your marriage.
There are some exceptions and other deductions but this is the process in a nutshell. The law is seldom simple.
We have helped hundreds of people just like you sort out their equalization issues. We can help you too. Please go to our website if you want a more detailed explanation of the equalization process. When you are ready, call or go to our website at www.Galbraithfamilylaw.com to book a consultation.
Written by Mervyn White. Family law lawyer at Galbraith Family Law. To see Merv’s bio click here. If you wish to book a consultation with Merv please go to our website.