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The Matrimonial Home, Report for Discussion 14


This report discusses potential changes to the Dower Act and the Matrimonial Property Act. The Dower Act was created with the intent of supporting widows after the death of their husbands, by providing them with ownership, for the remainder of their lives, of the matrimonial home. This report investigates ways in which that intended support can be continued, given modern complexities. The report also considers situations in which, after a divorce or separation, a spouse can obtain occupation of the […]

AREA OF LAW Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE rfd14.pdf

March 2, 1995

Effect of Divorce on Wills, Final Report 72


In Alberta, divorce has no effect on a will made during marriage. If a person has made a will that leaves everything to their spouse, the will is not automatically revoked or otherwise affected by a subsequent divorce. If the person who made the will dies without changing their will or remarrying, everything would go to their former spouse in accordance with the pre-divorce will. In many Canadian and foreign jurisdictions the result would be […]

AREA OF LAW Wills and Succession Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr072.pdf

November 1, 1994

Court-Connected Family Mediation Programs in Canada, Research Paper 20


This paper addresses the use of (non-litigated) mediation as an adjunct to litigation within the court system. The paper surveys: the mediation process (as it was at the time of publication), with a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages compared to litigation; the different mediation programs available (at the time of publication); descriptions of child-protection mediation programs released immediately prior to publication in British Columbia and Nova Scotia; and the empirical effectiveness of mediation programs […]

AREA OF LAW Administration of Justice Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE RPNo.20.pdf

May 3, 1994

Beneficiary Designations: RRSPs, RRIFs and Section 47 of the Trustee Act, Final Report 68


This report examines the issue whether section 47 of the Trustee Act ought to apply to RRSPs and RRIFs. It describes the scope and history of this project, looks at the existing law, and concludes that section 47 probably applies to RRSPs, even though its definition of “plan” does not mention them by name. The report also explores the fact that RRIFs as a type of “plan” within the meaning of section 47 is more doubtful. Arguments […]

AREA OF LAW Wills and Succession Family Law
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr068.pdf

September 29, 1993

The Domestic Relations Act (DRA) – Phase 1. Family Relationships: Obsolete Actions, Final Report 65


With the changes in attitude toward marriage and family that have occurred over past decades many provisions of the Domestic Relations Act have become outmoded. This report recommends the abolition of six obsolete matrimonial actions: restitution of conjugal rights, judicial separation, damages in tort for adultery, enticement or harbouring a spouse; damages in tort for harbouring of a child, damages in contract for breach of a promise of marriage, and jactitation of marriage. This report also recommends […]

AREA OF LAW Children Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr065.pdf

March 29, 1993

Status of Children: Revised Report, Final Report 60


This report is a reissue and update from of Report 20, Status of Children, June 1976. The report provided detailed reasons and recommends that there will be one status for all children; that the legal relationship of child and parent be dependent on their biological relationship; that with the exception of parental guardianship, all rights and obligations of the child born out of wedlock, of a parent, or of any other person be determined in […]

AREA OF LAW Wills and Succession Children Family Law
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr060.pdf

May 29, 1991

Division of Canada Pension Plan Credits in Alberta, Final Report 58


The Canada Pension Plan Act, RSC 1985, c C-8, as amended in 1987, allowed that on the appropriate minister being informed of a divorce, the total Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) credits accumulated by both spouses through the course of the marriage would be split evenly between both ex-spouses. These amendments reflected a desire to protect women who, because of their unpaid contributions within the home, had historically suffered greater poverty in retirement than men. However, […]

AREA OF LAW Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr058.pdf

November 1, 1990

Section 16 of the Matrimonial Property Act, Final Report 57


Section 16 of the Matrimonial Property Act, RSA 1980, c M-9, stated that the rights of a person who started a property action against a spouse did not survive that person’s death, and thus the action could not be continued by his or her estate. This was based on the legal policy that matrimonial property should be available for the use of a surviving spouse. This report notes that, in practice, this section led to […]

AREA OF LAW Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr057.pdf
ENACTMENT

Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 1991, SA 1991, c 21, s 24 amending the Matrimonial Property Act (now RSA 2000, c M-8, s 16).

March 1, 1990

Towards Reform of the Law Relating to Cohabitation Outside Marriage, Final Report 53


This report addresses the position (at the time of its writing) of opposite-sex couples living together on a domestic basis without a legal marriage. Since these partnerships carry many of the same responsibilities as marriage partnerships, the report suggests that they be afforded similar (but not identical) protections under the law. Twenty-one recommendations are provided here, with the majority opinions falling roughly into the following categories: – Non-married opposite-sex cohabitants should have an official status, […]

AREA OF LAW Family Law Marriage & Divorce
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FORMAT Publications
FILE fr053.pdf

June 1, 1989

Sterilization Decisions: Minors and Mentally Incompetent Adults, Report for Discussion 6


This consultative document sets out the evolution of the present law, its apparent parameters, the social and medical background to sterilization decisions and tentatively recommends a new statutory regime that would better reflect the present day and foreseeable needs of Canadian citizens. This report recommends that the decision regarding sterilization be made by a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench. Before making the order for sterilization the judge would be required to satisfy himself […]

AREA OF LAW Constitutional and Public Law Family Law
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FORMAT Publications
FILE rfd6-1.pdf

March 2, 1988

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