Under section 4.1 of Nova Scotia’s Matrimonial Property Act, business assets are excluded from the definition of Matrimonial Property. As such, they are not subject to the same presumption of equal division as a matrimonial home, or pensions.
“Business assets may be classified as matrimonial depending on the primary purpose of the asset, including whether the asset is generating income in a entrepreneurial sense, whether the asset is a capital asset acting passively, or whether the asset was acquired from funds diverted from the family.” (See Wolfson v. Wolfson [2021] N. S. J. No. 358)
Some decisions of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court render a portion of a business asset as matrimonial and subject to division,while leaving other portions as business assets exempt from division.
We recommend that persons with business assets get legal advise before getting married or divorced so that they are able to make informed decisions and informed choices about how they may want to structure their business and life.
Posted by Philip Whitehead