Living with someone in a common law relationship does not automatically give the same rights as if you were married.

If you are married, you are entitled to an equalization of property upon a separation as provided for in the Family Law Act. If your spouse dies, you have a claim against the estate.

If you are living common-law and separate from your spouse, you may not have any right to claim an interest in property.

In a common-law relationship, in order to establish a property claim against a spouse, you must establish a gift, resulting trust or constructive trust claim of ownership.

In marriage there is a presumption of partnership. In a common-law relationship there is not.

People can live together for many years and be shocked to find out that they do not have an automatic interest in their spouse’s property. If the spouse dies, they may have to establish that they were a dependant to claim an interest in the deceased’s property.

If you are living with someone and a dispute develops over property rights, you may be able to establish a claim in the property by showing that the other party is unjustly enriched. One must show a contribution through payment or labor which deserves recognition. It is not enough to simply say you lived together.

An obligation to support a spouse may arise in a common-law relationship if you live together for more than three years, or if you live together for more than one year and have a child or children together.