Date of Marriage: Your separation money bookend

The date of marriage can seem like a distant memory, especially with divorce just over the horizon. But it will be important to keep this date in mind as it also determines important proceedings. Thankfully, this date can often be easier to determine.

Under Ontario family law, when two people get married, each spouse becomes entitled to an equal share of the net family property accrued during the marriage. These “profits” of the marriage are usually determined from the date of marriage, till the date of separation. 

The court will usually add up the property accumulated during the marriage and subtract this sum from the assets of each spouse on the date of marriage. Whatever amounts remain are what will be equalized between the parties. 

Each spouse is allowed to deduct the value of any property they owned as at the date of marriage from the net family property. Also, any pension value accrued before the date of marriage will be allowed as a deduction. 

Keep in mind that the law generally does not concern itself with what happened before the marriage. This can be an important consideration where you and your spouse cohabited for a length of time before getting married. Even if there was a material change in your finances, assets or debts during that period and this is attributable to your shared circumstances, the law cannot take this into account. 

Only your financial circumstances as from the date of marriage will affect your entitlement after the marriage breaks down.

There are several important milestones that spouses who have decided to obtain a divorce must keep in mind. While some of these important dates and time limits depend on certain divorce issues such as property division claims or custody, other time limits apply to most divorces. 

For instance, since child or spousal support often need to be settled in a divorce, both parties need to understand what amounts to the date of separation and how to calculate it. Other dates relating to time limits for filing equalization of property, financial disclosures etc. may also be important. 

This article, explains these important dates in Ontario divorce proceedings, particularly the date of marriage and date of separation. The article also explains the implication of these dates and how to determine when they start counting.