All You Need Is Love: Our Valentine’s Day Quiz

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February 14th is Valentine’s Day, a great time to show (or confess) your love in all kinds of ways. But beware of sticky situations or falling foul of the law. Take our quiz to know what to look out for! 

Quiz Saint-Valentin_ANG

After a romantic dinner, your partner gets down on one knee and pops the question. You say “yes” without hesitation, but the next day, you start to have doubts. Do you now have a legal obligation to get married?

A. No! You can still change your mind.

Accepting a marriage proposal is a wonderful expression showed your intention to get married. Until the wedding ceremony takes place, your marital status remains unchanged.

So, don’t panic. You can change your mind at any time before the wedding, without legal consequences.

You want to confess your feelings to your colleague, but you are afraid of how your employer will react. Does the employer have a say in your love affair?

C. Only if your relationship creates a conflict of interest or disrupts work.

There is no law that governs romantic relationships at work. You have the right to your privacy, including your personal relationships. The courts have recognized that there is nothing wrong with two coworkers developing a romantic relationship. 
But be careful with arguments by the watercooler! Your employer can intervene if the relationship causes problems, such as tension between coworkers or negative impacts on the work environment.

In addition, if your relationship risks causing, or appears to cause, a conflict of interest, you must inform your employer. 

You moved in with your partner four years ago now, and you are not planning to get married. Are you still entitled to benefits similar to those of married couples?

B. Some benefits are available even to unmarried couples. 

People in a common-law relationship (or “de facto union”) are those who choose to share their lives without being married or in a civil union. 
Common-law couples have benefits similar to those of married couples in certain specific cases. For example, as a common-law partner, you can: 

Be careful, there is no single definition of what a common-law spouse is in Quebec. You must therefore check the criteria with the relevant organization. 

To your surprise, you find out a few weeks after your wedding, that your partner has not yet divorced from their previous marriage. Can you request an annulment of your marriage?

C. Yes, because polygamy is illegal in Quebec.

An annulment of marriage is a legal procedure that allows you to end a marriage without having to file for divorce.

A marriage can be annulled for several reasons, including if one of the people was already married or in a civil union at the time of the marriage. It can also be annulled if one of the partners married the other only to immigrate to Canada, without the intention of living together.

You generally have three years after the marriage to apply for an annulment. 

This Valentine’s Day, you’re upset with your ex for breaking up with you before the wedding. To ease your broken heart (and maybe your wallet), could you take back the engagement ring?

A. No, you can’t take the ring back without your ex’s consent.

You need to find another way to dry your tears, because the ring now belongs to your ex! 
Engagement rings are gifts, whether you get married or not. Therefore, you can’t ask your ex to return the ring or reimburse you for its value unless they agree.

This goes for the robot vacuum cleaner and Christmas gifts too!