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Rules about who is a spouse

OW or ODSP will decide that you are spouses if any of the following are true:

  • You tell them that you are spouses.
  • You are married to each other.
  • The law says that one of you must support the other person or their child.

If you live together, OW or ODSP will also decide you are spouses if all of the following are true:

  1. You have been living together for at least 3 months.
  2. One of you supports the other or the two of you are “financially interdependent”.
  3. You are “living together as a couple”, not as two single people.

Being financially interdependent

To find out if you are financially interdependent, OW or ODSP will ask questions like:

  • Do you own things together?
  • Do you have joint bank accounts?
  • Have you borrowed money as a couple?
  • Are one or both of your names on leases or bills?

Living together as a couple

Living together as a couple means that your relationship is like a marriage. To decide if you are living together as a couple, OW or ODSP will ask questions like:

  • Do friends and family members think you are a couple?
  • Do schools, doctors, or other organizations, know you as a couple?
  • Do any children from another relationship treat the person you are living with as a parent?

It does not matter if you have a sexual relationship with each other. They are not allowed to ask about that.

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