Dartmouth Family Lawyers

Our Dartmouth lawyers are conveniently located a five minute walk from the MacDonald Bridge at King’s Wharf in downtown Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Lenehan Musgrave LLP represents individuals throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality in all areas of family law.

Our lawyers’ approach

We practice by the motto “Legal solutions. Sensible approach.” To us, that means using all the tools of the law available to our clients while staying focused on their personal priorities and the big picture. It’s what achieves the best results.

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COVID-19 UPDATE - March 21, 2022

We have updated our COVID-19 policy in response to moving to Phase 3 of the province’s reopening plan. Read more.

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Initial Consultation

At Lenehan Musgrave LLP we offer a one hour initial consultation in person or, if requested, over the telephone.

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In the Blog

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Marriage vs Common Law: What Are the Differences?

Family law in Nova Scotia applies a distinct difference between common law relationships and marriage. While some provinces may allow common law, or cohabitation, to take on the rights and responsibilities of marriage after a certain period of time, this is not the case in Nova Scotia.

What constitutes common law?

A common law relationship is simply the act of living together in a marriage-like relationship without actually being legally married. It does not require any kind of legal process to create a common law union. The definition of common law partnership also differs depending on the laws applied. For example, the Canada Pension Plan states that two people are in a common law relationship after a year of cohabitation. The Parenting and Support Act, on the other hand, requires two years of cohabitation before a relationship can be described as common law.