How family property and debt are divided in BC

Generally, everything either spouse owns on the date of separation, whether it is in one name or both. That includes real estate, bank accounts, RRSPs, pensions, vehicles, shares and business interests. It also includes any increase in the value of excluded property during the relationship.

Property a spouse brought into the relationship, gifts and inheritances received from third parties, certain awards and insurance payments for personal injury, and some interests in trusts. Property bought with excluded money can also be excluded, but only if it can be traced back to that source.

Family property is generally valued at the date of the agreement or the date of trial, not the date of separation, unless the spouses agree otherwise. A rising or falling market between separation and resolution can therefore change the numbers.

Yes. Debt either spouse took on during the relationship, and debt taken on after separation to maintain family property, is family debt. It is presumed to be shared equally, regardless of whose name it is in.

A court can divide property or debt unequally if an equal split would be significantly unfair. Relevant factors include a short relationship, a debt run up by one spouse without the other’s knowledge, or a spouse who reduced the value of family property. The bar is high.

Pensions are family property to the extent they were earned during the relationship. The Family Law Act sets out a specific process for dividing them, and each pension plan has its own forms and timelines. Getting that paperwork right matters as much as the agreement itself.

Yes. Married spouses generally have two years from the divorce order. Unmarried spouses generally have two years from the date of separation.