If you have separated, dividing the assets and debts you and your spouse gained during your marriage can add confusion to an already complex process. At a basic level, fair property division settlements will have two elements: clear financial disclosure and an equitable distribution of the net family property.
Both spouses are required to provide documentation of all their assets and liabilities at marriage date and on the valuation date. Failure to disclose has been called the “cancer of family law”. Disclosure can include providing bank statements, property valuations, business valuations, and/or credit card and loan statements. With all your financial information on the table, it allows for there to be a fair division and helps to prevent one side initially hiding assets that may come up in the future.
In Ontario, the law treats marriage as a sort of unwritten contract to divide everything gained from the date you walk down the aisle to the date one of you decides to end your relationship. When your marriage comes to an end, an accounting of what each party has gained during that venture is completed and we do this with the disclosure that has been provided. We look at things like what liabilities and assets you brought into marriage and what assets and liabilities you have when the marriage ends. Essentially, the law is interested in what was gained by each of you during the marriage and we call that your net family property. When this accounting is completed if one spouse gained more than the other, a payment is made to the spouse who is “worse-off” than the other to equalize everything that was gained during the marriage. We call that the equalization payment and it is considered a “fair” way to divide the net family property.
Are you looking for expert assistance in navigating the complex process of debt and asset division in divorce? INB Family Law LLPS has a dedicated team of legal professionals ready to advise and assist you in securing your financial future. Reach out today for a consultation.