The correspondent and the correspondent’s wife separated (with a divorce decree to be issued shortly, but continued to live under the same roof but with no common social activities, taking of meals, sexual relations, or significant communication other than respecting their children (also under the same roof). CRA stated:
The courts have held that it is possible for two spouses to live separate and apart due to marriage breakdown, even if they still live under the same roof, in the following circumstances …:
- the spouses occupy separate bedrooms;
- the absence of sexual relations between the spouses;
- little, if any, communication between the spouses;
- no domestic services between the spouses;
- the spouses eat their meals separately;
- the spouses have no social activities in common.
… [T]he existence of a joint account and the payment of joint expenses does not prevent you and your spouse from living separate and apart due to the breakdown of your marriage on XXXXXXXXXX 2009.