2 When A Person Is A Spouse Under This Act

2 (1) Unless subsection (2) applies, 2 persons are spouses of each other for the purposes of this Act if they were both alive immediately before a relevant time and

• (a) they were married to each other, or
• (b) they had lived with each other in a marriage-like relationship for at least 2 years.

• (2) Two persons cease being spouses of each other for the purposes of this Act if,

• (a) in the case of a marriage, an event occurs that causes an interest in family property, as defined in Part 5 of the Family Law Act, to arise, or
• (b) in the case of a marriage-like relationship, one or both persons terminate the relationship.

• (2.1) For the purposes of this Act, spouses are not considered to have separated if, within one year after separation,

• (a) they begin to live together again and the primary purpose for doing so is to reconcile, and
• (b) they continue to live together for one or more periods, totalling at least 90 days.

• (3) A relevant time for the purposes of subsection (1) is the date of death of one of the persons unless this Act specifies another time as the relevant time.

2009-13-2, effective March 31, 2014 (B.C. Reg. 148/2013); 2014-9-51.