tj444 -> RE: Prenups (9/23/2011 12:44:33 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: HeatherMcLeather quote:
well,.. you do know that in Canada, if you are gay and living together with your partner, that you are legally required to file your tax returns as equivalent to married (it doesnt matter if you marry formally or not).. I'm not sure you are correct, but even if you are, how is that related to anything I said? quote:
In some cases, its more financially beneficial to be "single" and not to formally marry. My mother had a friend who is living with a guy, staying unmarried means she continues to get her dead husbands pension every month, if she remarries that $$$ goes bye-bye.. You see, that sort of thing wouldn't even enter into my mind when considering marrying. To me it is a union based on love, not a legal partnership for financial gain. That sort of thing might not enter your mind, but that doesnt mean there arent consequences, both good and bad. If i cross the street without looking both ways, i might just get hit by a truck. kwim? I just mean that for tax purposes, your status of married or not is irrelevant, what is relevant is the tax code! lol And yes, it is correct. For a long time hetros living common-law were considered married/equivalent to married. Shortly after gay marriages were made legal in Canada, they changed the tax act to include gays living common-law. My brother is gay and I decided to look it up. If you will see in my first link, there is no reference that your common-law parter be of the opposite sex. It simply says "living with you in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 continuous months". I recall reading an information thingie about it a long time ago and that is where they specified that common-law now extended to same sex couples.. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/prsnl-nf/mrtl-eng.html The same holds true of Old Age Pensions in Canada. "As a result of the changes that took effect on July 31, 2000: •same-sex common-law partners have the same benefits and obligations as opposite-sex common-law partners. •the definition of a common-law couple, whether opposite-sex or same-sex, is two people who have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year." http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/isp/common/samecom.shtml Yes, i know it is probably a surprise to many same sex couples in Canada but that is the way it is. For better or worse.. [:D]
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