I am separating from my common law partner of 3 years. I purchased a house before when we first started dating, she

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The brief answer (as it is 4:00 am here in Ontario) is that in BC, common law relationships are treated the same as married couples - however, with respect to the home, if you owned the house before her moving in, you would have to divide any INCREASES in value of the home while you're living together, and only that increase is counted as part of the family property.  That is, the increased value is divided equally between the two of you if you separate.

You might also benefit from a FREE 30 MINUTE consultation with a family law lawyer in BC through their law society referral service found here:

https://www.accessprobono.ca/our-programs/lawyer-referral-service

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