What Your Separation or Divorce Means For Your Home in Ontario!

What Your Separation or Divorce Means For Your Home in Ontario!

There is no better time to start thinking about what you’re going to do with your home than right now when you are getting separated or divorced.

Hi, my name is Thomas O’Malley.  I’m an experienced family lawyer in Durham Region and the GTA.

You first have to find out whether only you or your former spouse are on legal title to your home or both you and your spouse are on legal title as joint owners of the property.

If you or your spouse are the only person named as the registered owner of the home, you can list the home for sale. 

However, you need the written consent of your spouse to sell the property.  Your spouse will need to sign the listing agreement and sign off on the agreement of purchase and sale.

However, you should not go running off tomorrow to list your home for sale. 

You should give careful thought to what you want to do with your home since you and your spouse are getting separated or divorced.

You might want to keep your home since you like it and your children want to continue to live in the same area and go to the same school.

If you or your spouse want to keep the home, you will have to purchase your spouse’s legal interest in the home.

In this case, you need to figure out your property calculation pursuant to Ontario family law.

You have to include the value of your home as part of the value of your assets on the date of separation.  If you or your spouse are the only registered owner of the home, you have to include the whole value of the home on the date of separation in your property calculation.

Of course, you get to deduct 100% of the outstanding mortgage and/or line of credit amount owing on the property. 

If you are a joint owner of your home, you put down 50% of the value of the home in your property calculation as well as 50% of the outstanding mortgage and/or line of credit amount owing on the property.

You have to figure out this equalization payment issues since it has a direct impact on what you or your spouse would pay to the other spouse to purchase their interest in the home.

Of course, you and your spouse can simply decide to sell your home depending on your circumstances.

If you are in a common-law relationship, you do not need your spouse’s consent to sell the home. 

However, your spouse could make what is called a trust claim against your property if your former spouse has made significant financial contributions to your home, such as paying half of the mortgage on a monthly basis.

You can see how the property issues can get complicated quite quickly in your separation or divorce.  I highly recommend you get the advice of an experienced Ontario family lawyer to deal with the property issues in your separation or divorce.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, there’s a few ways to contact our office. 

You can leave a message on my Facebook law office page, visit my website at www.canadiandivorcelegaladvice.com, or call me directly at 905-434-8837.  We would be happy to speak to you.

Oh, by the way, did you know you can protect your family law rights and get essential information on settling your family law issues with your former spouse with the daily indispensable family law advice and tips at my FREE Facebook group? 

Click here to find out more: Durham Region Separation and Divorce Legal Support Group  

Thanks for watching this video.