He wants to keep the house and buy me out

Assuming that the matrimonial home is jointly owned and that your husband wishes to buy out your share, any such transaction is normally based on the current value of the home, not the equity as of November 2014 when you moved out. However, your husband may attempt to claim a credit for payments he has made on the home such as mortgage payments etc. since you left. Depending on the circumstances, you may have a counter argument that you are entitled to "occupation rent" for his exclusive use of the home while you have had to pay to live elsewhere. Since the matter depends on many variables, you should speak to a lawyer right away.

Furthermore, the issue of buying out someone's interest in a home should not be determined in isolation from dividing the other "net family property". Ontario’s Family Law Act (FLA) sets out the regime for property division between spouses upon the breakdown of a marriage. Central to the property regime is the calculation of each party’s “net family property” (NFP) or net worth accumulated throughout the marriage. Each parties' NFP is the value of each party’s property on the date of separation, taking into account all assets and liabilities, and excluding property held by each party on the date of marriage, with the exception of the matrimonial home, which cannot be deducted from a party’s net worth, though depending on the length of marriage and other factors, the other party may not have a full entitlement to. Generally, once both parties’ NFP’s have been determined, the spouse with the greater NFP will owe the other spouse an “equalization payment” of one half the difference between the two NFPs. Again, however, if this was a marriage of less than 5 years, it may be less than one half of the difference depending on the circumstances.

I strongly recommend that you speak with a lawyer about your situation as he or she will be able to explain the equalization process to you in greater detail and how it will apply based on the specific facts of your case. As you can see, it can be complex depending on a variety of factors. There may be other assets/debts that affect what the total payment to you should be for your share of the matrimonial home and your share of assets accumulated during marriage. Since the situation can be so complex and much more information is required to give you legal advice, you should immediately consult with a lawyer before signing or agreeing to any buy out of the home. You can contact us at Long Shariff & Associates at (647) 559-3335 for a free consultation.