Matrimonial Home in Family Law: The Basics

A matrimonial home in family law is defined as every property in which a person has an interest or, if the spouses have separated, was at the time of separation ordinarily occupied by the person and his or her spouse as their family residence (s. 18(1) of the Family Law Act).

In family law, parties may have more than one matrimonial home (which may include a ski chalet or a condominium in the United States).

Matrimonial homes are significant in family law as they are given special treatment in the context of married spouses in two distinct ways:

1. Both spouses have an equal right to possession of the matrimonial home. See below for an in-depth explanation of the possessory rights of spouses relating to the matrimonial home.
2. If a home is a matrimonial home at the time of separation, is the same home that the spouses resided in on the date of marriage, and is only registered in one spouse's name, the spouse on title cannot deduct the marriage date value of the matrimonial home when calculating his or her net family property. However, the value of the matrimonial home is still included as a valuation date asset of the title holder. If all else is equal, the result of this is that the titled spouse shares half the value of the house as of the date of separation with the non-titled spouse.