Can i take legal action against my ex that stole things from our apartment after we broke up?

Question

I asked her to leave about 4 months ago and she did. We lived together for 2 years. I had gone away for a week and came back to an apartment missing alot of things (including: furniture, DVD player, DVDs, clothes, curtains, a table, and even my cleaning supplies). There was no forcible entry at all and she DID have a set of apartment keys that she hadnt returned yet. All in all, i figure its close to $1000 worth of objects stolen. What are my options? I have not been able to get a hold of her so I dont even know if she will admit it, but its unlikely.

Oh and I live in Canada not the U.S.

And I should also mention that some of the "better" things in the house were not stolen. As in my TV, my computer and printer, as well as other electronics. So I think that makes it VERY unlikely that an actual "thief" broke in.

Answer 1

Probably not. If she was on the lease,it was legally her residence and she had the right to remove whatever she wanted. You would have to prove that the items that you had stolen were purchased by you and were for your use only. Since you lived together it would be assumed that whatever was purchased was to be used by the both of you.

You can always try,but I wouldn't hold my breath.  

Answer 2

Well keep in mind after about 6 months the courts see you two as common law. If you two split up ,,as in a marriage she gets half but on the other hand she should have done it the right way. Before you take any action make sure you have concrete evidence that she did do this and have proof,, IE.receipts,,pic's, etc to prove you did have these items in your possession.

Answer 3

And why didn't you change the locks when she left? If she has keys you can't get her for anything.