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British Columbia common-law couples basically married under new law

March 18 may have just become the most common anniversary in British Columbia, thanks to a new law that, you're welcome, essentially makes any couple that live together married.

The province's Family Law Act came into effect today and grants all couples that have been in marriage-like relationships for two years the same rights and protections as those who signed on the dotted line.

The Family Law Act encompasses a number of topics, specifically relating to the end of a relationship featuring a child and family violence. Quite notable are the changes to common-law relationships, which state that any couple that splits after two years of cohabitation are eligible for a legal separation, in which assets and debts accrued during the relationship are shared equally.

“For young couples who live together for a couple of years and then live with somebody else for a couple of years, it’s going to be interesting to see if they’re going to start making claims,” Vancouver lawyer Georgialee Lang told the National Post.

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Lawyers are urging couples to come to some sort of prenuptual agreement before moving in together. It is yet to be seen if the new law will have an impact on the number of "my lease is ending, what the hell" decisions that are made.

But isn't that the concern in the first place? British Columbia is acknowledging the changing times. Marriage isn't for everyone, not anymore. Relationships rush into the end zone faster than ever before, and couples move in together even if they have no intention of staying together forever.

With divorce common across the country, even some couples committed to spending their life together don't see marriage as anything more than unnecessary paperwork. Those people can be forgiven for being upset at having the paperwork thrust upon them.

About a quarter of B.C. court time is taken up by naggling over ended relationships, and it appears this law gives couples the framework to handle common-law splits themselves.

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But not every province is moving the same direction as B.C. Quebec passed new common-law regulations saying such couples do not have the same rights as married couples. And the reason was because it would take away from a couple’s right to choose whether to be married.

The two provinces are viewing the issue under very different lenses. In British Columbia, they are acknowledging the prevalence of common-law relationships by shoehorning them into the place of traditional marriage, in a bid to simplify the legal proceedings.

Happy Anniversary, common-law couples of B.C. You are now as good as married in the eyes of the law.