Can two individuals live separate and apart, while remaining under the same roof, and what support should they provide to support that status? CRA stated:
The generally accepted criteria to determine whether two individuals live separate and apart were… affirmed…in M. v. H [[1999] 2 SCR 3, para. 59]. These include shared shelter, sexual and personal behaviour, services rendered between them, social activities and relations, economic support and children, as well as the societal perception of the couple. …
Where a taxpayer and the taxpayer’s ex-spouse or former common-law partner state that they are living at the same address, but consider themselves as merely roommates from the date of separation, the following documents may support a request for validation:
- Divorce document;
- A court order or a legal separation agreement that sets out legal details of the arrangements for the individuals, child custody and provision for child support;
- Other legal documents;
- Mortgage documents showing the assumption of the entire mortgage by one of the parties and the effective date of the change;
- Proof of individual vehicle loans indicating the effective date of the change, if applicable;
- Proof of automobile insurance for each former spouse or common-law partner indicating the effective date of the change (from family to individual);
- Proof of individual medical insurance indicating the effective date of the change or the date the spouse or common-law partner was removed from the client's file;
- Individual credit card statements indicating the effective date of the change, if applicable;
Letter from an independent third party, supplemented by persons in authority, attesting that the two individuals live at the same address but live separate and apart and no longer appear as a couple since a certain date.