Adult Interdependent Relationships
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Adult Interdependent Relationships
How is a common law relationship defined in Alberta Laws?
The term living "common-law" is often used in everyday language to describe a couple that lives together, with or without children, but is not married. Alberta law used to make some allowance in certain situations for people in such relationships to be treated as if they were married. For example, under the Domestic Relations Act a person from a common law relationship could apply for spousal support when the relationship ended, provided the relationship had lasted at least three years, or there had been a shared child.
The term living "common-law" is no longer used in Alberta laws. The law with regard to common law relationships in Alberta has now been changed with the introduction of the concept of adult interdependent relationships. The new law is set out in the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act and has applied in Alberta since June 2003. The term living "common-law" is, however, still used in Canadian laws. For example, in order to call yourself "common-law" for income tax purposes, there is a time requirement of only 1 year (as opposed to 3).
What is the significance of the new law?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act provides for legal recognition of the relationship between two people who are not married. In order for the relationship to be recognised by the law, the relationship must have certain characteristics that are set out in the law. The significance of a relationship being recognised as an adult interdependent relationship is the rights, benefits and responsibilities that will then arise under other laws. Those rights, benefits and responsibilities will be similar to, and in some cases, the same as, those extended to spouses who are married.
For example, the Family Law Act will allow adult interdependent partners to apply for a support order where the relationship has broken down. Also, an adult interdependent partner is now a dependent within the Family Relief Act, so that he or she can apply for relief from the terms of a will or intestacy where they consider that inadequate provision has been made for them.
There are many Alberta laws that were amended following the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act coming into force. In any situation where there are rights and obligations granted to married spouses, it will be important to check to see what rights are also extended to adult interdependent partners.
What is an adult interdependent relationship?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act provides two possible ways for such a relationship to exist
1. If you have made a formal and valid adult interdependent partner agreement with the other person.
Two people that are related by either blood or adoption must enter into such as agreement in order to be considered adult interdependent partners.
OR
2. If you are not related by either blood or adoption and if you have:
a) lived with the other person in a "relationship of interdependence" for at least 3 continuous years; or
b) lived with the other person in a "relationship of interdependence" of some permanence where there is a child of the relationship (either by birth or adoption).
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act defines a "relationship of interdependence" as a relationship outside of marriage where two people:
a) share one another's lives;
b) are emotionally committed to one another; and
c) functions as an economic and domestic unit.
To meet these criteria, the relationship does not have to be conjugal (sexual). It can be platonic.
How would anyone determine whether a couple is functioning as an economic and domestic unit?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act states that all the circumstances of the relationship must be looked at to see if it is indeed an adult interdependent relationship. The Act then goes on to state some factors that could be relevant, as follows:
- Whether the couple have a conjugal (sexual) relationship.
- How exclusive the relationship is, for example, do they each have conjugal relationships with others.
- How the couple habitually act and conduct themselves with regard to household activities and living arrangements. This might include matters such as whether they live together, share rooms, share chores.
- The extent to which the couple portray to others that they are an economic and domestic unit.
- The extent to which the couple formalize their legal obligations, intentions and responsibilities towards one another. This might include matters such as whether they have completed an adult interdependent partner agreement, or made provision for each other in their wills.
- The extent to which direct and indirect contributions have been made to each other or for their mutual well being. This might include items such as paymens into joint banking accounts, and providing health benefits for each other.
- The extent to which they are financially dependent on each other.
- How the couple might care and support any children.
- How the couple owns, uses or buys property.
What is an adult interdependent partner agreement?
This is a formal document that parties can complete to indicate that they are each other's adult interdependent partner. The document must be in the form that is provided for by the legislation, which means it must include the following:
- Names and addresses of the two people who are becoming adult interdependent partners.
- A paragraph that states they understand that by making the agreement they will become each other's adult interdependent partner and will have all the benefits and obligations that are then provided under Alberta Law.
- A paragraph that states that the parties are each aged 16 or older, neither is married or have an adult interdependent agreement with someone else, and that they intend to live together in a relationship of interdependence.
- A statement that the parties understand that the effect of the agreement may revoke any will that either of them has previously made.
- A statement that the parties understand that the agreement will expire if they become former adult interdependent partners.
- Date of the agreement.
- Signature of parties to the agreement, each witnessed by two other people (and the printed names and addresses of those 2 witnesses).
- If one of the people making the agreement is under 18, the guardian of that person must sign the agreement.
- If the people making the agreement are related by blood or adoption, they must be aged 18 or over.
Can anyone make an adult interdependent partner agreement?
No. You cannot make an adult interdependent partner agreement if:
- You are already a party to an adult interdependent partner agreement with someone else.
- You are married.
- If you are under 18 and related to the other party (either by birth or adoption)
- If you are not related to the other party by birth or adoption and you are a minor (18 or under), unless you are over 16 and your guardian has given written consent to you entering the agreement.
I am in a relationship with another adult and we have not made an adult interdependent partner agreement. Does this mean that we are not adult interdependent parties?
Not necessarily. Making an agreement is one way in which it will be determined that a valid adult interdependent situation exists. It is also possible that even without an agreement your conduct will show that you are sharing each other's lives, are emotionally committed to each other, and function as an economic and domestic unit. You must also have lived with the other person in a relation of interdependence for at least three years continuously, or lived with that person in a relation of interdependence which is of some permanence and there is a child by birth or adoption.
I have lived with my sister for many years. Are people who are related to each other able to come within the definition of adult interdependent partners?
Yes, provided you are both over 18 and you complete an adult interdependent partner agreement. People who are related to each other by blood or adoption must complete an agreement in order to be treated by the law as adult interdependent partners.
Anyone who is under 18 cannot be in an adult interdependent relationship with someone who is related to them by blood or adoption.
I am 17 and I live with my boyfriend who is 19. We do not want to get married but we want to be recognized as a unit. Can we be treated as being in an adult interdependent relationship?
As a minor, or person under the age of majority, you can be treated as being in an adult interdependent relationship if your relationship fulfills the tests set out in the Act. You cannot enter into an adult interdependent partner agreement until you are 18, unless your guardian gives a written consent allowing you to do so.
My friend told me that if we made an adult interdependent partner agreement we could get an apartment in a building where they only allow couples to rent. I made the agreement, but I found out that my friend made up the story about the building. Am I stuck with this agreement now?
No. An adult interdependent partner agreement is not valid if one person was persuaded to make the agreement by fraud, duress or undue influence. Duress means that someone put a lot of pressure on you to enter into the agreement. Undue influence can mean that someone used their power over you to make you enter into the agreement.
Can same sex partners be adult interdependent partners under the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act?
Yes, provided that the relationship fulfills the requirements of the Act. That is, the couple must have:
- Lived with each other in a relation of interdependence for at least three years continuously; or
- Lived with each other in a relation of interdependence which is of some permanence, and there is a child by birth or adoption; or
- Made an adult interdependent partner agreement with each other.
When my friend induced me to enter into an adult interdependent partner agreement because he told me we could rent an apartment together in a particular building that only allowed couples, I gave him money for a deposit. Now he won't give me the money back. Can I take legal action against him?
Yes. If what he told you was untrue, the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act states that your friend is liable for monetary and non-monetary losses that you have suffered because you were induced to enter into the agreement by fraud, duress or undue influence.
Your friend would also be liable to you for losses if he persuaded you to enter into an adult interdependent partner agreement when he could not make the agreement because he was married, under 18 (or over 16 but had no guardian consent), or was already a party to an agreement with another adult.
My son had a close relationship with a friend. Six months ago my son went to work abroad. His friend came to see me recently and showed me an adult interdependent partner agreement that he said my son and he had signed. He asked me for money to help him set up a business. I gave him some money, but I wasn't sure and so I checked with my son. My son told me there never was an agreement and that the relationship ended before my son left. How can I get my money back?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act specifically provides that where someone falsely uses an adult interdependent partner agreement to claim that an adult interdependent relationship exists with someone, they are liable to anyone else who suffers loss because they rely on the agreement. They are also liable if they allege that an adult interdependent relationship exists and in reality, it does not.
You can therefore take legal action against the friend to claim your money. Your action would be in the civil courts. For any amount up to $25,000 you can claim through Provincial Court. For an amount over $25,000 you must claim through Court of Queens Bench.
You can also make a complaint to the police as it is possible that a criminal offence of fraud has been committed.
Are there other circumstances when an adult interdependent partner agreement will not be valid?
Yes. In addition to being invalid if one person was persuaded to make the agreement by fraud, duress or undue influence, the agreement will also be invalid if, at the time the agreement was signed:
- One of the parties did not have the mental capacity to understand what they were agreeing to;
- The parties were not living together and did not intend to live together in an interdependent relationship when they made the agreement;
- One of the parties was married;
- One of the parties was already a party to an adult interdependent partner agreement with someone else;
- One of the parties was a minor, or was over 16 but had no written consent from a guardian to make the agreement.
- If the parties are related by blood or adoption and if one or both of the parties is under 18.
I made an adult interdependent partner agreement with someone, but now we are no longer together. I do not want to be a party to the agreement anymore. Do I have to do anything formal to signify that the agreement is over?
It is possible for you to formally indicate in another written agreement with your former partner that the interdependent relationship is over, that you intend to live separate and apart and that there is no possibility of reconciliation. Making such an agreement, would be the clearest way to signify the end of the relationship.
Other ways in which an interdependent relationship will be treated as ended will be as follows:
- You live separate and apart for one year, and one or both of you intends that the adult interdependent relationship is over;
- You marry each other, or one of you marries a third person;
- Where an adult interdependent partner has lived with their partner for three years or, has lived with the partner for a time of some permanence and they have a child by birth or adoption, the relationship will be seen as ended if one partner makes an adult interdependent partner agreement with a third person.
- One or both of you obtain a declaration of irreconcilability under the Family Law Act
Even if you did not make an adult interdependent partner agreement for the time when you were together, you can still make a written agreement to signify that the adult interdependent relationship is over.
Once the adult interdependent relationship is ended in any of the above ways, you become former adult interdependent partners.
I was living with a partner in an adult interdependent relationship for five years. I wanted to end the relationship, but my partner did not. We split up for three months and then I agreed to try to live together again. We tried living together for eight weeks but have now split up again. Do I now have to wait for a year from the eight weeks for the partnership to be formally considered as ended?
Not necessarily. You can still count the year of being separate and apart from the time when you first split up. If you get back together for any period up to 90 days for the purpose of reconciliation, that period is not counted in the calculation of one year of living apart. If you were together for more than 90 days, you would have to start the calculation of one year after that time.
You could also ask your partner if he or she is willing to sign a written agreement that the adult interdependent relationship is over. In that way you do not have to wait for a year to pass.
I have lived with a partner for eight years, but I want to end the relationship. I cannot yet afford to move out of the house we own together, but we live separately in the house. My partner does not want the relationship to end and is being difficult about dealing with dividing up the house or selling it. There is no possibility of signing a written agreement to end the relationship. In these circumstances, how can I fulfill the requirement that we live separate and apart for one year in order for the adult interdependent partnership to be over?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act provides that just because one partner does not intend to live separate and apart, that does not interrupt the one year period of living separately and apart. In any dispute over this matter, your partner would have to establish that you did in fact live as partners for one year even though you wanted to separate. The onus of proof would be on your partner to show that the adult interdependent relationship existed throughout this period. It would therefore be important for you to ensure that your lives are as separate as possible, even whilst living in the same house. For example, you should have separate financial arrangements, provide no benefits to each other and not have sexual relations.
I have been in a relationship and living with someone since 1994. As the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act did not become effective until June 2003, does this mean that I cannot claim to have been in an adult interdependent relationship until June 2003?
No. The Act applies to adult interdependent relationships that began before the act came into force.
My elderly father has had a close companion for the last ten years. She started out as a housekeeper and although he still pays her for services she has also become a close friend. They do not live together. Just lately I heard from someone else that she has been saying that she is my father's adult interdependent partner and will be able to claim from his estate when he passes away. Is this right?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act provides that there is no relationship of interdependence where one person provides another with domestic support and care for a fee or other favours. This would also be true if the person providing the service did so on behalf of an agency or government. If this was the sole reason upon which the friend was claiming to be an adult interdependent partner of your father, she would therefore fail in her claim.
I have two close personal relationships that I would like to formalise under the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act. Can I do this?
No. The Act provides that a person can only have one adult interdependent partner at a time.
Are there still common law rights now that there is an Adult Interdependent Relationships Act?
The law with regard to common law rights in Alberta is not entirely clear at the present time. The Supreme Court of Canada has said that laws that discriminate against those living in common law relationships as compared to those who are married may be invalid. The term "common law" is often used in everyday language to describe a couple that lives together, with or without children, but is not married. Alberta law used to make some allowance in certain situations for people in such relationships to be treated as if they were married. For example, under the Domestic Relations Act a person from a common law relationship could apply for spousal support when the relationship ended, provided the relationship had lasted at least three years, or there had been a shared child.
The Family Law Act and other acts were amended to add the words "adult interdependent relationship" instead of common law. However, only certain acts have been amended. There are therefore a number of questions that might arise as to the status of some relationships.
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act generally requires a continuous relationship of at least three years or an adult interdependent partner agreement. If a couple has been together for two years and they do not have a child by birth or adoption, they will not be considered to be an adult interdependent relationship. When considering common law rights the courts have required that people show that a relationship has some degree of permanence. It remains to be seen if challenges will be raised to the law in court and how the courts will approach those challenges. For example, what are the rights, if any, in child-less common law relationships that are less than three years.
With regard to laws that have not been amended to take into account the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, it also remains to be seen as to how the courts will apply the law to common law relationships.
It should also be noted that the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act is an Alberta law. Many cases are gradually coming before the Supreme Court of Canada dealing with the rights of same sex couples, which may make it necessary to further alter Alberta law.
The term living "common-law" is no longer used in Alberta laws. The law with regard to common law relationships in Alberta has now been changed with the introduction of the concept of adult interdependent relationships. The new law is set out in the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act and has applied in Alberta since June 2003. The term living "common-law" is, however, still used in Canadian laws. For example, in order to call yourself "common-law" for income tax purposes, there is a time requirement of only 1 year (as opposed to 3).
Which laws have been changed to take into account the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act and are these changes significant?
The Alberta laws that have been amended are set out in the Act. They include:
- Alberta Evidence Act,
- Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped Act,
- Change of Name Act,
- Dependent Adults Act,
- Domestic Relations Act,
- Employment Pensions Plan Act,
- Family Relief Act,
- Human Tissue Gift Act,
- Maintenance Enforcement Act,
- Mental Health Act,
- Matrimonial Property Act (this was a word change only; the MPA does NOT apply to AIRs),
- Métis Settlement Acts,
- Municipal Government Act,
- Protection Against Family Violence Act,
- Protection for Persons in Care Act,
- Personal Directives Act,
- Power of Attorney Act, and
- Wills Act.
Some of these changes are more significant than others. One of the legal areas most affected is that of estate planning, that is, planning how you are going to distribute your property when you die. The effect of changes in the legislation means that your property may not actually end up with the people you intend it to go to.
In the situation where someone dies intestate, or without having made a will, there are now some complicated situations that can arise. For example, there may be a spouse and an adult interdependent partner, or one child and a parent may be adult interdependent partners. In the latter situation, the child who is an adult interdependent partner could end up with more than other children because of the adult interdependent partnership status. In order to avoid such difficulties it is a good idea to make a will and have some control as to where your assets and property will go. This will also avoid some later difficulties for your family.
My mother lived with her friend Jean for fifteen years before she died last year. It was a platonic relationship based on friendship and the convenience of sharing a home with someone else. My mother did not leave a will so that everything she left, including the house, was dealt with under the rules relating to intestacy. My siblings and I were amazed when we heard that Jean was entitled to get a grant of administration from the court for my mother's estate on the basis that she and my mother were adult interdependent partners. Is that right?
Yes. Even though your mother and Jean were just friends, they lived together long enough to qualify as an adult interdependent partnership. Even though they made no formal agreement, if Jean could establish that their lives were interdependent as defined by the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act, there would be evidence to presume an adult interdependent relationship existed.
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act changed who can apply for a grant of administration when someone dies without a will. An adult interdependent partner may now make the application as a "next of kin". The Surrogate Court Rules now give an adult interdependent partner the same priority as a spouse to apply for the grant.
We were further amazed when we learned that Jean was entitled to a large sum from my mother's property under the intestacy rules. Is this right?
Yes. The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act also amended the Intestate Succession Act which sets out the rules for how a deceased person's property is to be disposed of when the person did not make a will. An adult interdependent partner is now eligible to receive property in the same way as a surviving spouse. So even though your mother may not have intended this result, the fact of her living with Jean for so many years in a close relationship allowed for this result to occur.
Is there any way in which my mother could have still lived with Jean but prevented her from receiving property after her death?
Your mother could have made a will directing where her property was to go when she passed away. Even with careful estate planning, however, it is not possible to contract out of the Dependants Relief Act. That Act allows for someone who is not provided for in a will or by the intestacy rules to apply for money or property from the estate of a deceased person. Only certain people can apply. The group now includes adult interdependent partners.
The result of the laws acting together means that you cannot make an agreement or contract to say that the Dependants Relief Act will not apply to your estate. Even if you leave a will, someone who can claim they were your adult interdependent partner, could challenge your will in court and possibly obtain property or money.
My mother passed away twelve years ago and my father has been living with someone else for ten years. I know my father made a will right after my mother passed away. My father's second partner is younger than him and has children from a former relationship. My siblings and I are concerned that the will my father made will no longer be valid. Is this right?
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act amended the Wills Act so that an adult interdependent partner agreement revokes or cancels out a will in the same way that marriage does, unless the will states that it is made in anticipation of making an adult interdependent partner agreement. This means that unless the person making the will acknowledges in the will that an adult interdependent partner agreement is about to be entered into, the will is void.
The law only relates to situations where an adult interdependent partner agreement has been made and does not apply to the situation where an adult interdependent relationship is implied after the couple has been together over three years, or has a child in a shorter term, permanent relationship. It is possible that the fact the law applies to one kind of adult interdependent relationship and not to the other, will be challenged in future court proceedings.
Has the Dower Act been changed by the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act?
No. The Dower Act gives a married person the right to live in the matrimonial home and makes sure that the home will not be mortgaged, sold or transferred without the spouse agreeing. The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act has not amended the Dower Act, so that this right still only extends to those who are married.
If I enter into an adult interdependent relationship can I insure the life of my partner?
Yes. The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act has amended the Insurance Act to allow for a person to insure the life of an adult interdependent partner. There are other changes which allow for an adult interdependent partner to receive certain insurance benefits under the law.
I made an Enduring Power of Attorney some years ago that was witnessed by my friend Tom. Since that time Tom and I have become adult interdependent partners. A friend of mine mentioned that my Power of Attorney may not be valid. Is that right?
Yes. An Enduring Power of Attorney is a document that states how you would like your property to be dealt with if you become incapable of looking after it yourself. In particular you give someone called the Attorney, the power to look after the property.
The Adult Interdependent Relationships Act has amended the Power of Attorney Act to provide that an adult interdependent partner cannot witness a power of attorney in the same way that a spouse cannot. There is no provision for documents created before the amendments came into effect and the presumption is that it applies to all powers of attorney whenever they were made.
You should therefore make a new power of attorney witnessed by someone other than your adult interdependent partner. The same is true for personal directives (or living wills) made under the Personal Directives Act.
Mike, my adult interdependent partner, is severely handicapped. I heard that the provisions for AISH (Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped) have been changed to allow for benefits to an adult interdependent partner. Is this right?
Yes. The law that sets out the provisions for AISH now states that benefits available to a spouse of a severely handicapped person are now also available to the cohabiting partner of that person. A cohabiting partner includes someone who is an adult interdependent partner. The income and assets of the cohabiting partner will be taken into account in financial testing.
See Also
For more information, see these other Canadian Legal FAQs.
External Resources
This page was last updated in July, 2003.
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