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The Family Law Reform Act (A Summary) Matrimonial Property The old law assighed ownership of matrimonial property to the spouse who paid for it. This meant, in many traditional marriages, that the husband owned everything and the wife owned nothing, because she had no income from which to buy property. The contributions of a spouse in homemaking and child care were not recognized. Also, contributions toward family vacations and consumable items were not recognized. Public response has favoured sharing matrimonial property between husband and wife, including where one spouse's contributions are non-financial. * The new law adopts the "family assets" approach to matrimonial property. This means a house, a car, household goods, a boat - whatever the family uses together for shelter or transporation or for household, educational, recreational, social or aesthetic pur- poses - will be shared equally as assets that belong to both spouses if the marriage breaks down. " The court can change those equal proportions in favour of the husband or the wife, or order the couple to share other assets, such as business assets, if necessary to avoid unfairness in an individual case. This system applies only if the couple do not have a marriage con- tract which spells out exactly what each of them can retain if their marriage comes to an end. The family assets systern applies only as long as both husband and wife are living, and only when their marriage breaks down. During their marriage, the spouses are free to deal with their own property as they wish, except the matrimonial home. Support " Under the new legisiation, a judge, having considered a couple's ages, health and financial resources, can order either one tosup- port the other, and in what amount. The question of support is answered by whether it is needed - not by where the fault lies for the adultery, cruelty or desertion that may have preceded the marriage breakdown. Basically, the principle of the new support legislation is that as long as one of the spouses can show need and the other spouse can pay, support must be provided. • A husband or wife can buy the necessities of I ife against the credit of the other, although both are legally bound to pay the debt That right ends if the spouses separate or if one of them notifies credit- ors that he or she will no longer be responsible for the other's debts. • Either spouse of a common law relationship can claim support after they have lived together for at least f ive years, or if there has been some continuity to their living togetherand they have a child. * Parents are responsible for supporting their children up to age 18, unless the child is 16 or over and withdraws from the parents' con- trol. If a child marries before 18, the parents are automatically relieved of the support obligation. • Support is available for children born outside marriage, as weli as for those born to legally married couples, and forchildren taken in by a person and raised as members of the family. " If a creditor sues a minor to recover money owing for necessities. the minor's parents can also be liable, if they are responsible for that minor's support. * Natural parents who have cared for and supported a child and those who have treated a child as one of their own family can claim support from a child over 18, if the parent is in need and the child can afford to support the parent. • Where a person is supported by a public agency, the agency can cdaim support on that person's behalf from his or her spouse. * A spouse who fails to make court-ordered support payments can have part of his or her wages deducted by an employer under a court order to do so, to satisfy the support order. e Where a person from whom support is claimed cannot be found, a court can order disclosure to a court official from government or private records of the address, and only the address, of the person for the purposes of obtaining or enforcing a court order for support. Matrimonial Home The new legislation abolishes dower, the ancient common law right which entitled a wife to a life interest in one-third of her husband's real estate after he died. Dower is replaced by laws that protect the rights of both spouses in the matrimonial home. " Either spouse can seek a court order for possession of the matri- monial home and contents, regardless of which of the spouses is the legal owner, or whether it is a rented home or not. But before a court makes such an order, it must be satisfied that financial sup- port alone would be inadequate. • Neither spouse can sell the matrimonial home without the other spouse's consent in writing. This protects the family by ensuring its members shelter. Where a spouse's consent cannot be obtained because he or she is unreasonably withholding it, is mentally incompetent or cannot be located, the court has power to order a sale without consent. Domestic Contracts • A couple can define in a marriage contract what their property rights, support oblications and child-rearing responsibilities will be during marriage, on the death of oneofthem oriftheyseparate or divorce. A court may, however, alter a contract if it was drawn up fraudulently or under duress or undue influence, if its pro- visions are not in the best interests of a child, or if its provisions regarding support are unconscionable. * A man and a woman who are living together but not married to each other can sign a cohabitation agreement, which is like a marriage contract. • A marriage contract or cohabitation agreement cannot limit a spouse's right to live in the matrimonial home or to control the sale of it. it also cannot grant rights regarding the custody of chil- dren; those can only be spelled out in a separation agreement. • Domestic contracts must be in writing and signed in the presence of at least one witness. The new law applies to all Ontario residents, including persons who were married outside Ontario or were married before the legislation came into force, except those who have a marriage contract or separation agreement. "The above is an extract from a pamphlet on Famly Law Reform pubhshed by the Ministry of the Attorney General." WE OFFER YOU: A successful sales career with W. Frank Real Estate Ltd. Our "23 Steps to Success" program will give you Frank Smith, Sales Manager, West- ern Division, 234 King St. East, Bow- manville, L1C 1 P5. Tel: Bowmanville (416)623-3393, Toronto Line (416) Sales people! Due to the continuing many unique advantages in tlis 0239174 expansion of our operations we volatile business. requ.ire additional strongly $tan Albert, Sales Manager, Eastern motivated sales persons. Experi- GIVE US A CALL: Division, 308 North Front St., enced people and those willing to Ifyou'dliketoknowmoreabouthow Belleville, K8P 3C4. 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