Property Settlement - Loan or Gift from Parents

When buying a home after marriage, there are many cases in which the purchase is made with the support of parents. If the marriage breaks down in such a situation, how does the court treat the funds received from the parents in the distribution of property?

If there is any evidence such as a loan agreement that states that a fund is required to be repaid under certain conditions, a security deed or a record of a discussion between the parties that identifies the loan, the fund received from the parent is considered as a loan. If the money received is a gift from the parent, there is no obligation to repay it, and therefore, it is very likely that the money given to a couple in the long-term marriage will be regarded as a part of the common property. Considering whether the parent's funding was a loan or a gift, when calculating the total value of the parties' shared assets and determining their respective share, the court takes into account various factors stipulated in the Family Law Act. 

In many cases, it is not clear whether the parent's funding was a loan or a gift, and it often gives rise to a major problem during a divorce proceeding. For example, if a couple purchased a house for $800,000 with $400,000 in funding paid by their parents and has already paid out the loan, whether $400,000 was a loan or a gift is an important point in determining the total amount of common property. This becomes a more important issue if the amount of funding received by their parents accounts for a larger proportion in the total value.

Accordingly, when considering funding a child, it is necessary to hire a lawyer in advance and to make the intent of the funding clear. Otherwise, the parents may be called upon their child’s divorce proceeding as a witness or required to submit an affidavit, which causes severe stress over a long period of time. Further, such proceedings will give rise to significant legal costs.

In order not to spend too much money on legal fees during a divorce proceeding, it is recommended that parties start appropriate negotiations at an early stage for the settlement, so that things do not progress to the court due to property distribution issues.