Matrimonial Property

Changes Jan 1, 2020

DIVISION of the Matrimonial Property:
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You have probably heard that assets are split 50/50 in a divorce, but what does 50/50 really mean in your specific circumstances? Various assets may have different values depending on a number of factors including present and future taxation.
Objective asset division evaluation can result in predicting future financial consequences for better or worse.

The Matrimonial Property Act ( MPA) is the law in Alberta that sets out how property will be divided if marriage breaks down. This Act only applies to people who has been legally married.
As of January 1, 2020, MPA will be replaced with Family Property Act that will treat common-law couples same as married couples.

Time limits for property division:
If you or your spouse :

Separated but not Divorced- 2 years from separation date OR you must start divorce proceedings
Divorced- 2 years from the date of Divorce Judgment
Selling or gifting property to defeat the MPA claim - 1 year from the date property was sold or gifted.
Dead- 6 month from the grant of probate, but only if started claim before your spouse died.

Property EXCLUDED from division:

property owned before marriage
gift from the 3rd party
Inheritance
awards for any settlement ( as car accident) or proceeds from non-property insurance policies.

Dower Rights in Alberta

If you are married and your matrimonial home is in the name of only one spouse, the Dower Act gives certain rights to the other spouse, so long as the spouses have lived together in the home. The Act requires that the spouse who is trying to sell the home follow certain steps:

Home cannot be sold without the consent of the spouse whose name is not on the title. If the home is sold without the proper consent forms, the other spouse may sue the spouse who sold the home for half of the sale price or half of the appraised value of the home, whichever is greater.
If one spouse dies and the home is registered in his or her name only, then the living spouse receives a Life Estate in the property. This means that even though the property may have been left to someone other than the spouse in the deceased spouse’s Will, the living spouse may live there for the rest of his or her life and the person in the Will only gets the home after the remaining spouse dies. The living spouse cannot give away his or her interest in the home in their own Will and they cannot do large amounts of damage to the home.

Matrimonial Property is all of the property accumulated during a marriage, including debt