Canada Changes Same Sex Divorce Laws

While many American states are still debating their same-sex marriage laws, Canada is changing ours. Same-sex couples in Barrie and Orillia that are looking for a divorce lawyer may have questions about recent changes to residency requirements for same-sex divorces.

Recent amendments will change legislation that stated a married couple could divorce in Canada only if at least one spouse resided in Canada for at least one full, continuous year.

Effective August 15th, there is now a process for a Canadian court to grant a divorce to non-resident spouses who were married in Canada and reside in a state that does not recognize their marriage.

Civil Marriage Act divorce applications in Ontario will be accepted at any family counter of the Superior Court of Justice.

Divorce applications under the Civil Marriage Act must be filed either jointly or by one spouse with the consent of the other spouse, in the province where the parties were married.

Same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2005. Since then, Statistics Canada reports that there are 64,575 same-sex couple families, up 42.4% from 2006. Of these couples, 21,015 were same-sex married couples and 43,560 were same-sex common-law couples.

If you have any questions about Canada’s divorce laws, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our divorce lawyers in Newmarket, Barrie, Orillia or Collingwood any time.