Property Division in Oakville
Whether you are at the beginning of a relationship, contemplating a significant life change (such as marriage, purchasing property or moving in with your partner), or are going through a separation, it is crucial for you to understand how the law that may affect your rights to property. There are many commonly held myths about the law surrounding property ownership and division during relationships and upon relationship breakdown, and people have often taken these myths as fact, to their detriment. Timely and accurate legal advice is essential for protecting your interests.
If you are contemplating marriage or moving in with your partner, it is essential to get legal advice from a family lawyer before the marriage, cohabitation, purchasing property or making a contribution (financial or otherwise) towards property owned by the other party. You can see a family lawyer at any time to learn about your rights and responsibilities and to plan for future events.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Assist with Property Division?
Since the law surrounding “what is property”, determining the valuation date, determining values of property, exclusions, deductions, tracing, dividing family property and other issues can be very complicated, it is essential to get legal advice about your specific circumstances from a family lawyer experienced with complex issues of property division (equalization).
Many property issues can be addressed in advance in a marriage contract or cohabitation agreement. However, if you are at the end of your relationship and never signed a contract, Tenk Family Law can help answer your questions, advise you about your rights and obligations, and negotiate a comprehensive agreement at the end of your relationship.
Do I Need to Divide my Pension?
Pensions are property under the Family Law Act and are therefore included in a spouse’s net family property for the purposes of equalization. Pensions may be divided at source as part of a property settlement, though this is not always the case. Whether a pension will be divided depends on the circumstances of your particular case.
The unique nature of pensions, as both an asset and a future income stream and a non-liquid asset that must be included in a party’s net family property without being immediately accessible, makes the issue of pension division complicated and difficult for the self-represented party to fully understand and address. Legal advice from a family lawyer on this issue will allow you to understand your rights and effectively advocate for your interests.
The issue of pension division is often an emotionally charged issue for both parties, as its division often drastically affects the retirement prospects of both spouses. The issue tends to increase in significance to the parties the closer they come to retirement. Pension division can also affect financial support in some cases.
It is critically important to obtain an accurate pension valuation and to fully understand the applicable law when one or both spouses has a pension. Tenk Family Law can assist you in obtaining a proper valuation of any pensions involved in your case and provide you with the advice and information you need to advance your claim or protect your interests.
If you are separating, whether you are the pension holding spouse or the non-pension holding spouse, Tenk Family Law can assist you in obtaining the most advantageous settlement or court Order possible in your circumstances.
If you are contemplating marriage or cohabitation, it is equally important to fully understand the law surrounding pension division so that you can protect your pension interests in the event of a separation.
Constructive Trust and Joint Family Venture Claims
Tenk Family Law has broad experience with constructive trust and joint family venture claims.
Constructive trust and joint family venture are most often claimed in cases where common-law parties separate, and the equalization provisions of the Family Law Act do not apply. However, they are also claimed in cases involving married persons. Given the complicated nature of these claims and the law in this area, constructive trust and joint family venture cases can be lengthy and expensive to both pursue and defend. Tenk Family Law can assist you with advancing or defending a claim, whether your case can be settled by agreement or you must go to court.
Tenk Family Law strongly recommends that individuals seek legal advice about constructive trusts and joint family venture before moving in with their partner, purchasing or contributing to property (financially or otherwise) while in a common law relationship.
People have often made major decisions about their primary residence and other valuable property based on commonly held myths about the law of property division (for example, we commonly hear individuals tell us that since they’re not legally married, they have no concern about property issues despite their long-term common law relationship. These clients should be weary. Get the information and advice you need to protect your interests. Contact Tenk Family Law for a private and confidential consultation today.