Family Property Act Brings Significant Changes for Both Unmarried and Married Couples
Alberta has long been one of the few Canadian provinces which treat unmarried couples differently than married couples when it comes to the division of property upon the end of the relationship. As of January 1, 2020, that is no longer the case. On January 1, 2020, Alberta’s Matrimonial Property Act (“MPA”), which applied only to married couples, was renamed the Family Property Act (“FPA”) and, along with that name change came the inclusion within the FPA of “adult interdependent partners”, as well as significant modifications to the law that previously applied to married couples. Unmarried Couples For people who have chosen not to be married in order to avoid some of the legal issues and responsibilities surrounding marriage, the FPA has greatly reduced the…
