Historically, married couples enjoyed a number of legal rights and advantages over their unmarried counterparts. Recently, these rights have been extended in BC to cohabiting couples who live in marriage-like relationships, which are often referred to as common-law relationships. This includes the right to property division after separation under the Family Law Act, income tax benefits under the Income Tax Act, and insurance benefits. These changes lead many people to wonder whether there are still any legal advantages to getting married. This post seeks to highlight a few of the advantages which are still unique to legally married spouses.

Rights across Canada

While BC has expanded all the legal rights of married couples to common-law couples, this is not the case in many other jurisdictions within Canada. For example, in Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Newfoundland only legally married spouses are entitled to a division of property after separation, or inheritance rights after death of a spouse. If married spouses move to another province, they have the advantage of knowing that other provinces will grant them the same (or similar) rights they receive in BC.

Worldwide Recognition

If you are considering moving to another country with your spouse, being legally married can present significant advantages. If you are legally married, your marriage will be recognized by most if not all foreign countries across the globe. However, many jurisdictions around the world do not recognize any form of common law marriage. Consequently, if you and your common law partner would like to move to another country, you may not have any of the advantages which are granted to married spouses. In addition, many countries extend special “partner” visas to the spouse of a person who has citizenship, residency or a working visa to that country. A sizeable portion of these countries only provide these visas to spouses who are legally married.

Proving your Relationship

In the unfortunate event that your spouse passes away without a will, you will likely want to become the administrator of the estate, as well as a beneficiary of the estate. To do so, you may have to prove to the court that you were spouses. If you are a legally married spouse, you can simply show the court your marriage certificate. If you were common law spouses, you may have to provide proof to the court that you were living in a ‘marriage-like relationship’. This can sometimes be complicated and lead to lengthy court proceedings, especially if it is opposed by other beneficiaries, such as children from a previous marriage.

Similarly, if you are bringing a claim relating to separation such as a claim for property division or spousal support, you must first prove that you are spouses. For married couples, this is straightforward as a valid marriage certificate is all that is necessary. Common law spouses, however, must prove that they have been living in a marriage-like relationship for the purposes of the Family Law Act. You can find out more about what the courts consider a marriage-like relationship in our posts about eligibility for property division and spousal support.

We hope that this article has given you a better understanding of the legal advantages of getting married. Should you have any questions regarding your rights as a married or unmarried spouse, please give us a call at 604-449-7779 and we will be more than happy to assist you.