Did you know that… doesn’t divorce who wishes to?

Did you know that, when you are married, divorce is not the only remedy to separate from your spouse?

In fact, under the law there are only three grounds for divorce:

  1. You and your spouse are living apart for more than a year; or
  2. Your spouse has committed adultery; or
  3. Your spouse has treated you with physical or mental cruelty that renders intolerable the continued cohabitation.

It is possible that, for economic reasons, your spouse and yourself are still living under the same roof while having ceased to live together as if married. It must be noted that it is the intention to live separately that is central here. Therefore, you will need to prove in court this intent by demonstrating that:

  • You sleep in different rooms;
  • You don’t have any intercourse;
  • You do not talk to each other, or barely do;
  • You buy your grocery separately;
  • You do not eat together;
  • You do not render any mutual domestic work like cooking or doing laundry to one another;
  • You do not share a social life with each other;

Adultery or emotional abuse can be hard to prove in court. Often, the spouses will use the separation pattern for over a year to get a divorce.

Furthermore, it is possible to initiate divorce proceedings before the one-year period if you are separated during the presentation of the request and that the period of one year will be reached when the judgment of divorce is rendered.

If there is an emergency during this period, you can ask the court to make an interim or a provisional decision before making a final divorce decree.

The grounds for divorce do not affect the decision of a judge regarding the legal consequences of separation like the division of property, the child custody, the granting of child support or alimony.

To conclude, it is important to know that in the event you do encounter any of the three conditions mentioned above; it is possible for you to ask for a legal separation.

Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Text written by Me Nancy Drolet / Translated by Andrey Leshyner