What are the rights of a common-law spouse?
As of July 28, 2000, a person who was living with the deceased at the time of death and was cohabiting with the deceased in a marriage-like relationship, including a marriage-like relationship between persons of the same gender, has the same right to make funeral arrangements as a legally married spouse. There is no specified period of cohabitation required. Effective November 1, 2000, under the Estate Administration Act , a common law spouse includes a same sex common law spouse when the parties have lived and cohabited in a marriage-like relationship for a period of at least two years immediately before the other person’s death. A common law spouse has the same right as a legally married spouse to administer the estate and to inherit under Part 10 of the Estate Administration Act . Over a period of time I helped the deceased by running errands, taking care of his house and making meals when he was ill. I incurred out of pocket expenses while doing so. He always said he’d generously r
