Property Division Lawyers in Vancouver
Our experienced Vancouver Property Division Lawyers understand that dividing marital property often means navigating complex emotions and significant financial decisions. While it may seem like you’ll have to part with half of your assets, there are many ways to divide family property that don’t necessarily result in a 50/50 split. To help you better understand your options, we offer a Property and Debt Division Calculator, designed to provide clarity during this challenging process.
Our award-winning lawyers will find exceptions and creative ways to ensure you keep the property you deserve after separation. We achieve this through our collaboration, brainstorming, and pushing the limits of the law.
Our firm recently set precedent in British Columbia by having the judge order 80% of property in favour of our client.
What is Property Division in BC?
- Property division in Vancouver and throughout British Columbia means that under the BC Family Law Act, your family property and debt is often split equally between you and your spouse, unless you can prove significant unfairness of this arrangement. Family property is often what accumulates during the cohabitation and marriage, not what accumulates before or after cohabitation or marriage.
- Our family law firm has cutting edge knowledge of how this new law affects you and can identify cases in which application of such law would be deemed unfair by the court. We strategize tactics for minimizing allocation of the debt acquired by your spouse and while maximizing your chances of retaining family properties such as real estate, businesses, pensions, investments, household items and many other assets.
- Learn More
What is Excluded Property?
Certain types of property are excluded under the BC Family Law Act. Excluded property generally refers to property:
- you owned before you married,
- received as part of an inheritance,
- received as a gift,
- received as an injury settlement or award and insurance payments for non-property-related damages; and
- much more.
Equal Division & Unequal Division of Family Property & Debt
The BC Family Law Act equal-split provisions apply in most situations. However, in some instances, a spouse may be entitled to more than 50 percent of the family property and less than 50 percent of debts, if equal division would be deemed significantly unfair.
Some factors that are considered include:
- the length of the marriage,
- agreements made between the spouses,
- career contributions made by a spouse,
- circumstances upon which the spouse acquired the debt,
- whether the debt exceeds property value,
- devaluation of property value by the spouse
- tax liability resulting from property sale.
Business Division in a Divorce or Separation
A business is typically categorized as family property. However, dividing a business comes with several unique challenges and considerations. For example, should you pursue half the value or half the shares? How do you determine the business’s value? What are the tax implications of the choices you make? At YLaw, our team of experienced family lawyers can help guide you through the answers to these complex issues.
Real Estate Division & Divorce or Separation
Your rights regarding real estate division depend upon the type of property at issue (for example, marital home, commercial property or rental property).
Your marital home is generally divided evenly, and its value is established at the time of your trial. You can recoup post-separation expenses through an agreement with your spouse regarding who pays the mortgage and who lives in the home until your divorce. You can also choose to divide the home by selling it and dividing the equity or one party can buy out the other.
Taxes
While strategizing your property and debt division, you should consider the tax implications at the time you divorce and well into the future. For example, our lawyers include anticipated tax liability in valuations of real estate, businesses, investments, and RRSPs.
Hire an Experienced Property Division Lawyer in Vancouver
YLaw’s team of experienced Vancouver divorce lawyers, understand how the laws of BC apply to financial and property issues during a divorce. Consult with our dedicated Property Division Lawyers about obtaining an equitable division of your marital property.
To set up a consultation with our award-winning firm, call us at 604-974-9529 or get in touch with us here.
Find a location near you