Di-act-03
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I was married in Nova Scotia and moved to Alberta two years ago. Can I apply for a divorce in Alberta, or must I apply in the province where we were married?
Because the Canadian Divorce Act applies across the country, you may apply for a divorce in Alberta even though you were married in another province. There are residency requirements, however.
In order to file an application for divorce in Alberta, you or your spouse must have lived there for at least one year immediately preceeding your application. (The residency requirements are the same for every province.) Since you moved to Alberta two years ago, you may file for divorce in Alberta. You will need a copy of your marriage certificate, so if you do not have one, you should contact the appropriate place in Nova Scotia to get one. If your spouse continues to live in Nova Scotia, it is open to him or her to file for divorce in Nova Scotia. If by chance both of you should file for divorce within 30 days of one another in different provinces, then the province where the first divorce application (called a " petition") is filed will handle the case.
There is a Central Registry of Divorce Proceedings which ensures duplicate divorces from being granted. Courts file divorce proceedings with the registry once a divorce is initiated to check if that divorce has already been granted. If it has, the new action will be discontinued.
June 2006
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