House Bought Before Marriage

This is not legal advice. I am not your lawyer. You don’t even know if I am a lawyer for sure. The question lacks all of the necessary information to provide a decent answer to (see below). You should not rely on this in any way shape or form.

That would depend on things including but not limited to:

1) Where did the money come from (i.e., is it excluded property of some sort?);

2) How long had the parties lived together prior to the purchase of the house;

3) Where were the funds stored prior to being used as a down payment;

4) How much time had lapsed since the purchase and the separation;

5) Etc.

The quick answer is:

The value of the down payment might be protected, dependent on the circumstances; and,

Any gain in equity on the home (including both increase in value and decrease in outstanding mortgage amount through mortgage payments) are probably going to be family property and divisible.

This is why a free consult would be super-helpful - we could talk through the situation and get you closer to a provable answer, although nothing is guaranteed in law.

/r/PersonalFinanceCanada Thread Parent