What is a Matrimonial Real Property Law and what does it do?
There are many decisions that have to be made when a marriage or common law relationship ends. For example, will one spouse stay in the family home and do they even have a right to? Does each spouse have an equal share in the financial value of the family home? How will marital real property be divided up? Sometimes, spouses agree on how marital real property will be divided up but sometimes they don't.
Provincial laws apply to determine alimony and child support but provincial laws cannot deal with homes and lands on Reserve land. A Matrimonial Real Property law can help the process of dividing property and solving disputes when the spouses cannot agree. When spouses cannot agree, our MRP Law will contain the rules to determine what happens to real property (family homes) if a couple separates or divorces. The Law will apply when at least one person of the married/common-law couple is a Metlakatla member.
For more information about the Matrimonial Real Property Law, please review this information sheet.