This paper explores how the new Family Property Act (FPA) legislation, which took effect January 1, 2020, brings unmarried couples living together under the same property sharing scheme as married couples.

Topics discuss adult interdependent partners, relationships of interdependence, domestic and economic units, and joint family ventures; issues related to transition times, declarations of irreconcilability, separation dates, and property sharing; and how the FPA extends requirements to cover certain family law agreements, like cohabitation and separation agreements. The materials also provide an overview of how FPA changes will impact other statutes.

This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Family Property Act program in Calgary on November 13, 2019 and in Edmonton on November 22, 2019.