Love, Loyalty, Law: 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 did you know even matters of the heart aren’t free from the law? Take our quiz and test your knowledge!

Two people walk hand in hand through a snow-covered park, laughing and playing with the snow.
Quiz Saint-Valentin_ANG

After a romantic walk, your partner pops the big 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 of love, but it doesn’t create any legal obligation to marry. Until the wedding ceremony takes place, your marital status does not change.

So, don’t panic. You can change your mind at any time before your 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.

No law 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! 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 could cause, or appears to cause, a conflict of interest, you must inform your employer.

You’ve been living with your partner for four years now. Together, you’ve adopted a child on August 1st, 2025. You have no plans to get married. Are you still entitled to benefits similar to those of married couples?

B. Yes, you’re entitled to some benefits, even if you’re not married.

Common-law couples with a child born or adopted after June 30, 2025 are automatically in a parental union. The new parental union regime gives you rights similar to those of married couples or couples in a civil union.

For example, some of your property will be included in your parental union patrimony. The value of the property in the parental union patrimony will be shared between you and your partner if you separate, or if one of you passes away.

The parental union patrimony includes the following property:

  • residences used by the family, like your principal residence,
  • furniture used by the family, like your beds, fridge and stove,
  • vehicles used for the family.

By law, if one partner in a parental union dies without a will, the surviving partner gets one-third of the estate.

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 bigamy is illegal in Canada.

In Canada, the law doesn’t allow bigamy (being married to two people) or polygamy (being married to several people). Anyone who practices bigamy or polygamy or who celebrates a ceremony in that context can be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

In Quebec, being single, divorce or widowed is a requirement for marriage. Your marriage can be annulled if your partner was already married or in a civil union at the time of your marriage.

An annulment is a legal procedure that allows you to end a marriage without having to file for divorce. 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 the day before your 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’ll 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!