{"id":1065,"date":"2025-06-18T00:40:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T19:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/?p=1065"},"modified":"2025-06-19T22:27:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T17:27:27","slug":"quebecs-take-on-common-law-partnerships-the-new-parental-union-regime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/quebecs-take-on-common-law-partnerships-the-new-parental-union-regime\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec\u2019s Take on Common-Law Partnerships: The New Parental Union Regime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Effective Date: June 30, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Major changes to family law will come into effect as of June 30, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new law reforming family law and introducing the Parental Union Regime provides new protections for children born to parents who are not married or in a civil union \u2014 a reality that has become increasingly common in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is the Parental Union Regime?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This regime will automatically apply to all de facto spouses (partners who are not married nor in civil union) who have or adopt a child on or after June 30, 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exceptions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It will not apply to de facto spouses without children.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It will not apply to children born before June 30, 2025 (unless the couple opts in voluntarily).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Parental Union Patrimony<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The regime establishes a parental union patrimony, which must be divided when the couple\u2019s relationship ends (through separation or death), or if the couple marries or enters into a civil union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This patrimony includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The family residence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The furniture furnishing the family residence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vehicles used for family transportation<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>These assets are included regardless of which partner owns them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Note: This patrimony is similar to the family patrimony applicable to married couples, but more limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Who Is Considered a De Facto Spouse?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the law, de facto spouses are two persons who share a community of life and publicly present themselves as a couple, regardless of how long they have lived together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People who live together and are the parents of the same child are presumed to be de facto spouses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Modifying or Opting Out of the Regime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>De facto spouses may:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Modify the composition of their parental union patrimony<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opt out of certain provisions of the regime<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This must be done through a notarial deed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Voluntary Opt-In<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Couples with a child born before June 30, 2025, may opt into the regime:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By notarial deed<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Or by a contract signed before two witnesses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The regime takes effect on the date of signing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional Protections Provided by the Law<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Compensatory Allowance<\/strong><br>Upon separation, a partner may request financial compensation if they became financially disadvantaged for the benefit of the other.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Protection of the Family Residence<\/strong><br>A partner who is the sole owner or sole leaseholder of the family residence cannot sell or transfer the lease without the consent of the other partner.<br>This protection applies:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>During cohabitation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And for 120 days following separation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Inheritance Rights<\/strong><br>Without a will, a partner in a parental union will inherit:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One-third of the deceased partner\u2019s estate<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The remaining two-thirds will go to the children of the deceased<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is strongly recommended that de facto spouses create a will if they do not wish to follow these default inheritance rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need Support?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are exceptions and nuances to this law. Our team is here to help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Understand your rights and obligations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Draft or update a will<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opt in or out of the Parental Union Regime<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Schedule an appointment with one of our experts today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effective Date: June 30, 2025 Major changes to family law will come into effect as of June 30, 2025. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,38,41],"tags":[42],"class_list":["post-1065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alimony","category-child-support","category-common-law-spouse","tag-common-law-spouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1069,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1065\/revisions\/1069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/csklawyers.ca\/familylaw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}