New Alberta relationship law

[troutman]

Originally Posted by fotze

What if the guy was the sole breadwinner for 5 years then they separate, dose he now owe her half of his paycheck for the rest of his life? Do they split the assets down the middle? What about an inheritance, does that get split?

What if the guy was the sole breadwinner for 5 years then they separate, dose he now owe her half of his paycheck for the rest of his life?

Depends. Duration would not be long for a 5 year marriage. Quantum would depend on his income compared to what she is capable of making (if anything). There are tables that the Court will sometimes consider.

http://www.fathers-resources.com/Lin...d=424&mid=1386

The

Without Child Support Formula
Amount

ranges from 1.5 to 2 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes
(the gross income difference) for each year of marriage (or, more precisely, years of
cohabitation), up to a maximum of 50 percent. The range remains fixed for marriages 25 years
or longer at 37.5 to 50 percent of income difference.

Duration

ranges from .5 to 1 year for each year of marriage. However, support will be

indefinite

if the marriage is 20 years or longer in duration or, if the marriage has lasted 5
years or longer, when the years of marriage and age of the support recipient (at separation)

added together total 65 or more (the rule of 65).

Do they split the assets down the middle?

Matrimonial Property is split 50/50 - exempt from that is property owned before the marriage, gifts, inheritances, or injury settlements.

[edn88]

I think that regardless of the circumstances, that in order to be in an AIP situation, you should have to sign a contract. I like that any two people can enter into this though - being married shouldn't matter - if you choose to partner with some one, you should honor your obligations (or have a mutually agreed upon prenup)

[SebC]

Originally Posted by fredr123

While not perfect, the Act itself provides some factors to consider in determining what a relationship of interdependence entails (at least with respect to the "functioning as an economic and domestic unit"):

1(2) In determining whether 2 persons function as an economic and domestic unit for the purposes of subsection (1)(f)(iii), all the circumstances of the relationship must be taken into account, including such of the following matters as may be relevant:

(b) the degree of exclusivity of the relationship;

Soo... she can't take half your assets if you cheat on her?

(Should be in green text for the ladies, but I prefer white text for my disclaimers.)

[Ford Prefect]

I'm sure all those first cousin mullet wearers in Edmonton welcome this development.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

I'm sure all those first cousin mullet wearers in Edmonton welcome this development.

Hells no. How am I supposed to cruise around if she's got half my el camino?

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by CrusaderPi

Hells no. How am I supposed to cruise around if she's got half my el camino?

Well it depends if she gets the El or the Camino, how it all works out, but this guy has you covered:

[maverickstruth]

Originally Posted by edn88

I think that regardless of the circumstances, that in order to be in an AIP situation, you should have to sign a contract. I like that any two people can enter into this though - being married shouldn't matter - if you choose to partner with some one, you should honor your obligations (or have a mutually agreed upon prenup)

Just as a note, it is possible to sign an AIP agreement (which then allows you to enter into an AIP before 3 years have passed). My partner and I did this several years ago, since we hadn't yet lived together 3 years, so as to get the benefit for things like health care coverage.

Even the agreement itself is pretty ... uh ... haxy, though. It doesn't get registered anywhere (or at least, didn't at the time, it may have changed now). When we did it, basically it just entailed copying the text from the gov't website into a Word doc, print it, sign it and get two friends "of age" to witness, and then shove the paper into a file.

And of course, most places hadn't heard of it (the fact that you could enter into an AIP agreement by signing this statement) anyway and just kept asking "are you sure you haven't lived together 3 years?" because that's the only way they knew how to handle the situation. Fortunately, it's now been more than three years, so that's no longer a problem.

[MoneyGuy]

Anyone who is a common-law relationship, especially if children are involved (perhaps from previous relationship(s)), needs to seriously consider the possible liability. I've had a couple of clients who got into a serious pickle. In one case, he (my client) was in a CL relationship with a woman who had a son from a previous relationship. He acted in the absence of a parent (whatever the wording is in law) by coaching soccer, going to parent-teacher interviews, etc., and then got sued for support when the relationship ended.