By Josh Cohen ( July 24, 2026, 11:33 AM EDT) -- This is the scenario: John and Jane each purchase a real property in Ontario in 2003, to which they take title in their names alone. John purchases a residential property for $2,000,000 (“John’s property”) and Jane purchases a cottage property for $1,000,000 (“Jane’s property”). In 2006, John and Jane become common law spouses and go back and forth between living at their respective properties — typically John’s during the fall and winter months and Jane’s during the spring and summer months. John and Jane never enter into any domestic agreement. Both were previously married and have children from prior marriages, who are their primary beneficiaries and not each other....