This Act applies in respect of property whether situated within or outside the Province; and in determining any right to a division of property or any other right as between parties the Court shall, as is necessary, take into account property of the parties wherever situated. An order made under this Act affecting land is registrable under the Registry Act. In terms of division of marital property and debts the Act states that child care, household management and financial provision are joint responsibilities of spouses and are recognized to be of equal importance in assessing the contributions of the respective spouses to the acquisition, management, maintenance, operation or improvement of marital property; and, subject to the equitable considerations recognized elsewhere in this Act, the contribution of each spouse to the fulfilment of these responsibilities entitles each spouse to an equal share of the marital property and imposes on each spouse, in relation to the other, the burden of an equal share of the marital debts. Each spouse, on application to the Court for division, is entitled to have the marital property divided in equal shares if (a) a judgment granting a divorce is rendered, (b) a marriage is declared a nullity, (c) the spouses are living separate and apart and there is no reasonable prospect of the resumption of cohabitation, or (d) a marriage has broken down and there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation, whether or not the spouses are living separate and apart. The Act envisages as well the exclusion of specified family assets from division, and situations where it can make an unequal division of marital property.
Canada · 2012-12-03