First: Conjugal. Well, the real question is "are you having sex?", but people usually have an idea if they are common law. If you are living with your boyfriend/girlfriend then chances are you are on your way to being common-law.
Second: The GST Credit is the common drawback - one person has always gotten the GST credit and suddenly they are married and due to family income they no longer apply. Other things tend to be specific to individual returns. I can't come up with a big one right now, but I know I have amended a number of returns through the years because a change on one spouse altered another spouse indirectly (although this is often because of a husband/wife farm/business partneships).
Third: IANAL, but if you are required to file common-law, I would think you are considered common-law for all legal proceedings. Family law is black magic in my books.
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"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
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"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
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