3 May 2000 External T.I. 2000-0015425 - RRIF DESIGNATED BENEFIT SPOUSE

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the Department.

Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle du ministère.

Principal Issues: Can a former husband and father of her children living in a common-law relationship with a RRIF annuitant qualify as the RRIF annuitant's spouse?

Position: Yes.

Reasons: As father of her children, the former husband only has to cohabit in a conjugal relationship to be considered the deceased annuitant's spouse.

XXXXXXXXXX 							2000-001542
								.P. Sarazin
Attention: XXXXXXXXXX 

May 3, 2000

Dear Sirs:

Re: Designated Benefit and Spouse

This is in response to your letter dated March 14, 2000, addressed to our XXXXXXXXXX Tax Services Office, wherein you requested a ruling as to whether a former spouse of a deceased annuitant under a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) would re-qualify as the deceased annuitant's spouse where they were cohabiting in a conjugal relationship at the time of the annuitant's death.

The deceased annuitant was married to her former husband for many years. They separated in 1997 and were divorced in 1998. The deceased annuitant, her former husband and their children all lived in the same house during the separation and after the divorce. However, in June of 1999, the deceased annuitant and her former spouse reconciled and cohabited in a conjugal relationship until the annuitant died on February 2, 2000. You are of the view that the deceased annuitant and her former spouse would be considered spouses under paragraph 252(4)(a) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act").

Comments

In your letter you have outlined an actual fact situation related to completed transactions. As noted in Information Circular 70-6R3 (available at your local tax services office or on the internet at www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/formspubs/menu-e.html), this directorate can only provide advance income tax rulings in respect of specific proposed transactions. We must advise you that the review of completed transactions falls within the responsibility of tax services offices. Consequently, we can only provide you with the following general comments.

In addition to a person who is married to the taxpayer, a spouse is defined in paragraph 252(4)(a) of the Act (the "Act") as including a person of the opposite sex who cohabits with the taxpayer in a conjugal relationship and is either the parent of the taxpayer's child or has cohabited with the taxpayer throughout a 12-month period ending before that time. This is often referred to as a common-law relationship. The determination of whether two people are cohabiting in a conjugal relationship is a question of fact.

Where a divorced couple had children during their marriage, the divorced couple would be considered common-law spouses at any time after the divorce when they cohabit in a conjugal relationship. We note that, because they had children together, they do not have to cohabit for a twelve month period before being considered common-law spouses. This is confirmed in the definition of "spouse" provided by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency in its T4RSP and T4RIF Guide (T4079) which is also available at the above-noted internet site.

We trust that the above comments will be of assistance.

Yours truly,

Patricia Spice
for Director
Financial Industries Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate