--- title: "Reply to Lysiane Gagnon: Common Law Spouses and Lola ✦ Goldwater Droit" meta: "og:description": "Me Anne-France Goldwater responds to Lysiane Gagnon on common law spouse rights, the family patrimony, and the constitutionality of Quebec's exclusionary laws." "og:title": "Reply to Lysiane Gagnon: Common Law Spouses and Lola" description: "Me Anne-France Goldwater responds to Lysiane Gagnon on common law spouse rights, the family patrimony, and the constitutionality of Quebec's exclusionary laws." --- ![Reply to Lysiane Gagnon](https://goldwaterdroit.com/_vercel/image?url=%2Fimg%2Flogo%2Flogo-mark-textured.png&w=1536&q=80) [News & Insights](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights) # Reply to Lysiane Gagnon 11 March 2009 3 min read [Family Law](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=family-law) [Marriage & Cohabitation](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=marriage-cohabitation) [Child & Spousal Support](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=child-spousal-support) [Asset & Property Division](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?topic=asset-property-division) [Articles & Analysis](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights?category=articles-analysis) #### RESPONSES ARE IN ORDER REGARDING LYSIANE GAGNON'S ARTICLE OF FEBRUARY 25, 2009, "LOLA AND MARRIAGE." The trial dealt solely with the constitutionality of the laws that exclude common law spouses. The claims of "Lola" against "Éric" were not at issue. We will therefore not feed the repugnant gossip about them. Common law spouses whose unions end due to death or separation are not "castoffs from the lovers' market." Mocking people's conjugal relationships in this way seriously undermines the dignity of millions of us! Like married spouses, common law partners also deserve esteem and consideration. All partners find it difficult to contemplate a breakup. The law should not punish people who have children without thinking about a potential separation. Since 1981, the principle of equality for all children has prevailed in Quebec; we no longer turn our backs on children born outside of marriage. So how can anyone argue that in 2009, we should abandon these same children because their parents were naive enough to believe that common law unions are "the same as marriage"? Ms. Gagnon points out that 62% of births occur in common law unions. Thus, a growing number of mothers suffer from the economic vulnerability that often results from motherhood, and therefore, the absence of legal recourse causes harm — something she does not dispute. Let us add that child support payments in Quebec are often lower than elsewhere in Canada. A pernicious message is sent to men and women when it is implied that needing spousal support is shameful. Family life still very often leads to the sacrifice of one partner's financial independence. These people should not have to endure society's opprobrium for having put family before career. In 1989, the Act to Promote the Economic Equality of Spouses established the family patrimony, 10 years after the consecration of spousal equality and 25 years after wives obtained full legal capacity. This law was enacted to remedy the injustices caused by the separation of property regime. The family patrimony applies to all married spouses, men and women alike; it is the contribution to the "economic enterprise" that the family represents that counts. The law provides for unequal division in cases where a spouse, male or female, turns out to be a "parasite." The ability to invest one's savings outside the family patrimony exists for both spouses, and it strikes a fair balance between respect for individual autonomy and the need for protection. By restricting itself to assets acquired during the union, the family patrimony was designed to address the concerns of blended families. In the event of death, the value of the family patrimony accumulated by both spouses during their marriage is divided equally between the surviving spouse and the estate. A person remains free to make a will favouring their children. Furthermore, when parents decide to bequeath their assets to their children, those children do not have to share them with their own spouses. Finally, the recent survey by the Chambre des notaires and the study by Professor Hélène Belleau of INRS disprove the assumption that the family patrimony discourages people from marrying, since the majority of partners believe that the family patrimony applies whether they are married or not. _Anne-France Goldwater_ _The author is a lawyer. She represents the woman known as Lola in a lawsuit against her former partner._ [**Previous Post**Unjustified Enrichment Between De Facto Spouses: A Renewal of the Law, or History Being Re-Written?](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights/2008/05/unjustified-enrichment-between-de-facto-spouses-renewal-law-or-history-being-re-writt-1) [**Next Post **The Constitutional case for de facto couples in Quebec](https://goldwaterdroit.com/en/news-insights/2009/09/constitutional-case-de-facto-couples-quebec)