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Originally posted by Bad_Rich_Chic
What triggers "living together" for purposes of becoming common-law spouses? What keeps it from triggering if you're just roomies (the idea that I might have been deemed married to my freshman college roommate has made my skin crawl)? Does there have to be some sort of "holding oneself out as married or a permanent couple" element to it? Or does the CAN gov't feel OK speculating on who is and who isn't having sex?
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You just have to live together openly as a committed couple for a year. At least that is the law in Ontario. Other provinces may have stricter requirements (but I doubt it).
If your roommate were to claim to be married to you and then try to get your property or support after you stopped living together, you'd have to challenge his/her claim in court - i.e. he or she would assert a claim and you'd fight it. He or she would have to prove that you were in fact living together as a committed couple. If everyone knew you were roommates, he or she wouldn't have much of a case.
It's not like the gov't would impose something on you if you didn't want it if you weren't actually committed to each other.
