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BC Supreme Court · Property

Excluded property and tracing in BC family law

An asset can be excluded from division, but section 85(2) puts the burden on the spouse claiming the exclusion to demonstrate that the property is excluded. The hard part is often proof and tracing, not the label.

Excluded property is not the same as “everything I owned before separation.” Section 85 lists categories of excluded property. Increases in value and transformed or commingled assets can create separate questions.

Common excluded-property categories

Section 85 includes certain property acquired before the relationship, inheritances and gifts from third parties, some trust interests, and other listed categories.

Tracing is evidence work

If excluded money was moved through accounts, used as a down payment or converted into another asset, bank statements, purchase records and closing documents can become central.

Growth may be family property

Even where the original property is excluded, an increase in value during the relationship can be treated differently under the Act. Do not assume the whole current value remains excluded.

When unequal division arises

Section 95 is a separate question. It allows unequal division only where equal division would be significantly unfair, based on statutory factors.

Cost planning

Build the tracing chronology before paying for extensive expert work. Often the first question is whether the documents can prove the exclusion at all.

See government sources