Source: https://stepstojustice.ca/questions/income-assistance/i-live-another-adult-can-i-get-assistance
Timestamp: 2020-01-27 16:01:14
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I live with another adult. Can I get assistance from Ontario Works? | Steps to Justice | Your guide to law in Ontario
Home > Legal Topic > Income Assistance > Ontario Works > I live with another adult. Can I get assistance from Ontario Works?
1. Learn the rules OW uses to decide if someone is your spouse
2. Learn about the questions OW asks
3. Answer the questions about what type of relationship you have
My spouse and I have separated. What will happen when I apply to Ontario Works?
Ontario Works thinks I'm living with my partner. Will this affect my assistance?
If Ontario Works (OW) thinks you live with someone who is your spouse, neither one of you will be able to get financial assistance as a single person or as a sole-support parent.
Instead, OW looks at the income and assets that both of you have to decide if you can get assistance as a couple.
The amount of assistance you get as a couple is less than what you would get as two single people.
How much you get from OW depends on a number of things.
OW rules about couples
OW has rules that they use to decide whether 2 adults who live together are spouses.
If OW decides that the person you’re living with is your spouse, you can apply for assistance only as a couple.
If OW decides that the person you’re living with is your spouse, and you disagree, you may be able to appeal the decision.
If you apply for assistance as a couple, both of you have to sign all of the forms that are part of the application.
If you need help to decide whether to apply for financial assistance as a couple, contact a community legal clinic.
NEXT STEP - 1. Learn the rules OW uses to decide if someone is your spouse SEE NEXT STEPS
If you’re living with someone, Ontario Works (OW) will decide you’re spouses if any of the following are true:
OW will also decide you’re spouses if all of the following are true:
OW can decide that the person you’re living with is your spouse, even if one of you is married to or separated from someone else.
Ontario Works (OW) asks you questions to decide whether the person you live with is your spouse. These questions are in the Questionnaire (for Applicants or Recipients who are living with another adult). Some people call it the Co-Resident Questionnaire.
You won’t get financial assistance if you don’t:
answer the questions that OW asks
If you need help dealing with OW, contact a community legal clinic.
Once OW makes a decision
If OW decides that the person you’re living with is your spouse, they’ll say that you have to apply for assistance as a couple.
If OW decides that the person you’re living with is not your spouse, they may follow up in the future to see if your relationship has changed.
And they will likely ask you for information about your relationship at least once a year.
Ontario Works (OW) asks the questions that are in Part 1 of the Questionnaire (for Applicants or Recipients who are living with another adult) if:
In Part 1, OW asks you to choose the option that best describes your relationship with this person. You can choose:
Based on your answers to Part 1, OW can decide either that:
The questions that Ontario Works (OW) asks in Part 2 of the Questionnaire (for Applicants or Recipients who are living with another adult) are about financial factors.
To find out if one of you supports the other or if the two of you are what OW calls “financially interdependent”, Part 2 has questions like:
For example, you might not be able to afford the cost of living on your own. If this is why you share housing, it’s important to keep your finances separate, for example, your bank accounts and any bills that you pay. This will help show OW that the person you share housing with is not your spouse.
Or, you might get help from the person you live with because you have a disability. This could include helping you with your finances. For example, you might have a joint bank account with them because dealing with the bank is difficult for you.
OW is supposed to look at the reasons you share housing when they decide if you’re a couple.
If your answers to Part 2 of the Questionnaire do not show that you have a financial relationship like that of a married couple, OW should not go on to Part 3 of the Questionnaire.
But if OW thinks that your answers suggest that your financial relationship is like that of a married couple, you’ll have to answer questions in Part 3.
In Part 3 of the Questionnaire (for Applicants or Recipients who are living with another adult), Ontario Works (OW) asks questions about whether you live together as a couple.
OW will ask the questions from Part 3 if your answers to Part 2 suggest that you have a financial relationship like that of a married couple. You should not have to answer the questions in Part 3 if your answers to Part 2 did not show this.
To find out about this, OW asks questions like:
Whether or not you have a sexual relationship with each other does not matter. OW is not allowed to ask about that.
Talk to a community legal clinic if you disagree with the OW decision. They may be able to help you appeal the decision.