Dividing Family Property in Saskatchewan
When people separate they need to divide the property they have. The Family Property Act sets up a series of rules which are easy to understand and relatively easy to apply for most people.
The main questions people have are how to value and divide their assets and debts.
The basic rules concerning family property are quite simple:
- All property of all kinds from houses, to pensions, to businesses, to farms, to inheritances and any and all property is subject to equal division upon relationship breakdown.
- The value of the house, the contents of the house, vehicles, recreational equipment such as boats, RVs, snowmobiles and so on are split equally except in “extraordinary” cases which rarely happen. This is true whether or not one spouse brought the assets into the relationship.
- The rest, including pensions, businesses, farms, inheritances and any and all property is divided equally unless:
- There is a premarital exemption. Generally, this means that one spouse owned something at the time of the marriage and still has it or can trace the current asset to it. The value at the start date is exempt from division This does not include the house, contents etc.
- It is “unfair or inequitable” to divide the property equally.
- In practice, the courts will make an equal division in virtually every case subject to the premarital exemption.
- In most cases, debts are considered and generally deducted from the value of property but this may vary from case to case looking at the kind of debt and when and why it was incurred.
- If you have a prenuptial agreement and it has been properly signed before lawyers it is valid unless it is “unconscionable”.
Who can make a claim?
- Married couples but not if they are divorced.
- Common-law spouses who have lived together more than two years so long as the claim is made within two years of the separation.
What dates are used for valuing assets?
The Start Date
If there is property over which a premarital exemption is claimed, the start date is the earlier of:
- the date of marriage; or
- two years from the date that cohabitation started.
The End Date
- This is the date that a court action is started.
- In practice in a negotiation it is either the most current date or the date of separation, depending upon what the couple decides.
- If they are still living together, the end date can often be the date the agreement is signed.