All debts incurred by either party during a relationship are presumptively family debts, regardless of who incurred the debt.

In some cases, the courts have determined that it would be “significantly unfair” for a spouse to have to equally divide family property or be equally responsible for family debt. In that case, the court will order unequal division pursuant to s. 95 of the Family Law Act. The old Family Relations Act made it easier for people to unequally divide family assets or debts because a spouse only needed to show that it would be “unfair.” The Family Law Act, which came into effect in March of 2013, requires “significant unfairness.” This change results in decisions that many people would find unfair because it is difficult to meet the high threshold of significant unfairness needed to warrant an unequal division.