How is the payment made when the parental union patrimony is divided?
Short answer
In Quebec, the divisible value of the parental union patrimony is generally divided into equal shares between the spouses, unless that division would result in an injustice. Payment can be made in money or by transferring property, and the court may allow payments spread over a maximum period of ten years.
In detail
The division applies to the value of the property, not to the property itself: no one automatically becomes a co-owner of the other's house. The divisible value is calculated after subtracting the applicable deductions, and then divided.
An equal division is the general rule, but it is not absolute: the court may depart from it where an equal division would result in an injustice.
The method of payment allows for some flexibility. The spouse who owes the money can pay in cash or transfer property in compensation. And where immediate payment would cause hardship, the court can authorize payments over a period not exceeding ten years.
What to document
The valuation of each asset as of the date the union ended, the mortgage balances and the related debts, and all the documents supporting your deductions (value at the start of the union, inheritances, gifts, savings from before). Also keep a record of any settlement proposal exchanged between you, with its date.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Gouvernement du Québec — Partition of the parental union patrimony
- JuridiQC — Spouses in a parental union: how is property divided on separation?
Related questions
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- What is included in the parental union patrimony?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.