Dividing the matrimonial home

When you decide to leave your domestic partner, many concerns regarding your future may cross your mind at once. How will you manage financially? Who will look after your children going forward? Where will you live?

These questions can seem overwhelming at the onset. Therefore, it’s important to remember there are laws in place to protect your legal rights and financial interests. The law understands that it can be complicated to divide a shared life with someone, so it’s best advised to run any questions you have about your property by a legal professional.

As outlined described by the Centre of Public Legal Education Alberta, matrimonial property can encapsulate all types of property acquired during the length of a marriage. This can include physical possessions, sentimental possessions, real estate and finances. For certain types of property, such as the matrimonial home and pensions, there are special laws in place to protect your rights.

Because a home is a very important piece of property for a family – it’s probably one of the most valuable possessions you may own – it’s important to know what your rights are after the decision is made to leave your domestic partner.

Parties can decide amongst themselves who gets to keep the house, if one party is going to buy the other party out of his or her share, or if both parties should sell the property. Having children may also complicate matters, as leaving the family home can upset their regular routine in additional to accepting the divorce.

With pensions, the government also knows how hard it is to build up savings over the course of one’s lifetime. When partners divorce, especially later in life, it can be difficult for each person to try and rebuild a retirement plan from scratch. Pensions have unique laws in place for how to divide the value between parties, and how to determine proper assessment of the value.

If you are considering divorcing your partner, it’s best advised to consult with a legal professional to go over the complications regarding your most valuable property, so you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.