Dividing everything up after a couple separates can take time and effort depending on what assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. you have and how combined your finances are. The law says how you should divide your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans., depending on the legal status of your relationship.
Follow the steps on this page to divide up your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.. If you and the other person cannot agree on who gets what, you can get help from a professional without going to court or ask the court to decide.
On this page, “partner” refers to an adult interdependent partner and “unmarried couple” refers to a couple who was not married and not adult interdependent partners.
Need to know
- Spouses divide their assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. using Alberta’s Family Property Act.
- Adult interdependent partners divide their assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. using Alberta’s Family Property Act if they separated on or after January 1, 2020.
- Unmarried couples divide their assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. using property law principles, including the law of unjust enrichmentunjust enrichment A claim under property law principles that a person makes to protect property rightfully owed to them. To prove unjust enrichment, you must prove: 1. One person received an enrichment (benefit). 2. You suffered a loss or spent money on the property. 3. There is no legal reason for the enrichment (for example, it wasn’t a gift)..
- You can take steps to protect your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. until you have a written agreement or court order dividing everything up.
- You can agree how to divide your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans. in a pre-nuptial agreement, post-nuptial agreementpost-nuptial agreement An agreement signed by a married couple who plan to separate. It says how they will divide their property, who will pay support, and the parenting plan and decision-making authority for their children., cohabitation agreement or separation agreement.
Get started
Learn the basics about the rules for dividing everything up before you start the dividing process.
Then, there are a few other things you should know before you divide your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans..
Figure out which law to use
Both Alberta’s Family Property Act and general property principles apply to dividing property. Which law you use depends on the legal status of your relationship.
Guided pathway
Not sure which court or law to use? Find out!
Know what your agreement says
If you have an agreement to divide your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans., then you must follow it unless a court decides it is not valid. Agreements that might divide property include pre-nuptial agreements, post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements and separation agreements.
To learn more about what makes an agreement valid, read the section below. If you are not sure if your agreement is valid, get legal support.
Note the deadlines for going to court
You and other person can make a written agreement without going to court. If you cannot come to an agreement on your own or with the help of a legal professional, you may need to ask the court to divide your property.
If you must go to court, there are deadlines for doing so:
- Partners and unmarried couples have two years from their separation date to apply to court to divide assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans..
- Spouses have two years from the date the court grants their divorce to apply to court to divide assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.. You can also apply anytime before then, including while you’re still married.
Hot tip
Bankruptcy can affect how you divide your property. If you or the other person may have to file for bankruptcybankrupt A legal process that frees an individual or business from its obligations to pay some or all of their debts, with certain conditions., talk to a bankruptcybankrupt A legal process that frees an individual or business from its obligations to pay some or all of their debts, with certain conditions. or insolvency trustee right away. You should also get legal support from a lawyer who knows both family and bankruptcybankrupt A legal process that frees an individual or business from its obligations to pay some or all of their debts, with certain conditions. laws.
List everything you have
List everything you have, including all assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.. Be sure to include everything from the house and cars, to furniture, pets, investments and more. Altogether, this is your property.
For assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments., note when you got it, how you paid for it and whose name it is in. If you still owe money on it, such as a house or vehicle, note how much equityequity The value of an asset minus any money owing on it. For example, a person’s equity in their house is the value of the house less the mortgage amount they still owe. you have and how much you still owe.
For debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans., note when you got it, how much is owing and whose name the debt is in.
Include property:
- acquired before the start of the relationship
- acquired during the relationship
- acquired after the separation up until you finalize dividing your property by signing a written agreement or getting a court order
- in the name of one or both persons
- in the name of one person held with or by a third partyparty An individual or business involved in a court case. (the person’s portion is still property)
- located in and outside Alberta
There are special rules for spouses/partners to help you figure out what to do with the family home and who gets the inheritance.
To make an accurate list, you and the other person must share financial information with each other about all your assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. and debtsdebts Money you owe to others, including individuals and companies. Debts include mortgages, credit cards and loans.. To learn more about what information to share and how to share it, visit the Share financial information to divide assets and debts page.
Protect your property
If you are worried the other person may sell or use the property without you knowing, you can take steps to make sure the property is still available to divide later. If the other person depends on you financially, think about how they will provide for themselves before you take steps to protect the property.
Examples of steps you can take to protect yourself and property include:
- cancel secondary credit cards
- change your pin number on all your cards
- change login details for accounts with your credit card on file, such as utilities, streaming services and online shopping
- open a bank account in your name only if you do not have one already
- talk to the bank about your joint accounts
- if possible, change any overdrafts and lines of credit to need two signatures
- update the beneficiarybeneficiary A person who receives income or property from a trust. An example of a trust is a deceased person’s estate. of your WillWill A legal statement of how a person wants their estate to be dealt with after their death., insurance policies, RRSPs and investments
If you own real estate, you can register a Certificate of Lis Pendens at the Land Titles Office or file it at the Court of King’s Bench. This certificate goes on the titleCertificate of Title A document from the Alberta Land Titles Office that says who the owners of a property are and others who have an interest in the property, such as a mortgage holder. to the property and lets potential buyers or lenders know there is a dispute about the property. It usually restricts the sale of the property.
If the other person is selling or transferring property to get around the rules for dividing property, you can ask the court for direction. For example, the other person may be selling property that is only in their name even though you have rights to that property. You must ask the court for help within one year after the date the other person transferred or sold the property.
Other steps may be appropriate in your situation. Get legal help to understand what other options you have.
Value the property
There are different ways to figure out how much property is worth depending on what kind of property it is.
- For bank accounts, investments, mortgages, credit cards and loans, look at the statement from the bank or institution holding the property.
- For real estate, ask a real estate professional to appraise the property. You can find a list of land appraisers on the Appraisal Institute of Canada’s website. You can also look at the most recent property tax assessment or compare to similar homes nearby for sale.
- For vehicles, look at used vehicle listings or websites that estimate a vehicle’s book value. You can also contact an appraiser, such as through the Canadian Professional Appraisers website.
- For furniture, collectibles, art and other goods, look for similar items for sale online or contact an appraiser, such as through the Canadian Professional Appraisers website.
- For businesses, ask a business valuator to determine its value. You can find a list of business valuators on The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators’ website.
- For defined benefit pensions, where the pension pays an amount based on years of service and average earnings, ask an actuary to determine its value.
The valuation date also depends on a few things:
- If you and the other person make a written agreement about dividing property, you can decide if you are going to use the value of the property at the date of separation or a different date.
- If you go to court, a justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. looks at the value of the property on the trialtrial A court appearance that resolves all outstanding legal issues in a court cases. A trial includes hearing oral evidence from witnesses and can take several days depending on the issues to be resolved. date or the date of the final order, whichever comes first. However, the increase in value since separation may not be divided evenly if one of you contributed to, improved or maintained the property after separation.
- For exempt property, you must prove the value of the property either when you got it or before you moved in together or got married, whichever happened later. You must also prove its current value.
Do the math
Do the math according to the laws that apply to your relationship.
Start by sorting the property into one of the following three categories:
- Exempt property
- Property that may be divided unequally
- Property that will be divided equally
To learn more about these three categories, read the Rules for dividing everything up page.
For property you are dividing equally or unequally
The goal is to divide it fairly between you. But deciding who will get what property can be difficult. Even if each person should get half the value of something, it is impossible to cut some property in half.
You can agree to divide property in different ways:
- If possible, you can split the property between you.
- One spouse/partner can buy the other person’s share of the property. One person will keep the property and the other will get cash.
- You can both sell the property to someone else and then divide the proceedsproceeds The money left from the sale of an asset after all the debts related to it are paid. For example, the proceeds from the sale of a house are the money left over after paying the mortgage owing, the realtor and the lawyer. between you.
- You can transfer property in one spouse/partner’s name to the other person.
- You can each keep different property with similar values.
For property you divide equally
Each spouse/partner should have roughly the same value of property at the end of the process.
Think about what property is important to you and why. Maybe some property has sentimental value or is more useful to you. Remember, the other person may feel this way about certain property too. Be fair and realistic about what property you would like to keep.
It is a good idea to get help from a professional, such as a lawyer or accountant, to help with transferring property and to make sure the division is fair long-term. For example, a professional can advise you about tax issues that arise when transferring some kinds of property. For pre-tax assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments., there may be a way of using a tax-free rollover to avoid tax bills later.
If you make an agreement to divide your property and one person later discovers the agreement is not fair, that person can ask the court to review it. The court will decide whether the spouses/partners should follow the agreement or not. If the court thinks the agreement is not fair, it can make an order dividing the property in a fair way.
Example
Spouse A and Spouse B are getting a divorce after 15 years of marriage. They did not live together before they married. Spouse B owned a condo before the marriage, which was worth $150,000 at that time. After marrying, they rented Spouse B’s condo out and bought a house together worth $300,000. Spouse A had $40,000 in savings when they got married and still has this money in an account in their name only.
Now that they are divorcing, they have gotten appraisals done on both properties. Spouse B’s condo is worth $200,000, and their home is worth $400,000. How can they divide their property?
The value of the house will be equally divided. Spouse B will get $200,000 and Spouse A will get $200,000.
Property that each of them owned before the marriage will not be divided. Spouse B will get to keep $150,000 for the condo, and Spouse A will get to keep $40,000 for their savings.
Some property will be divided based on what is fair. Spouse B’s condo is worth $50,000 more that it was before the marriage. This increase will be divided based on what is fair. Spouse A and Spouse B agree that while Spouse B did a lot of the rental property management, Spouse A helped by handling some of the property maintenance.
They agree that a 60/40 split of the increase in the condo, in favour of Spouse B, is fair. Spouse B will receive $30,000, and Spouse A will receive $20,000. If Spouse B had done all the work to find tenants, acted as the landlord, and completed the maintenance on the property, then they might have kept a higher proportion of the value.
Divide joint assetsassets Something a person owns that has value. Assets include houses, vehicles, furniture, money and investments. equally, unless you do not think it would be fair to do so.
Alberta’s Law of Property Act deals with dividing real estate owned by two or more people, either as tenants in commontenants in common A way to own property with others where each owner owns a share of the property. The shares of each owner do not have to be equal. For real estate, the Certificate of Title must say what share each owner owns. or joint tenantsjoint tenants A way to own property with others where each owner owns the whole property equally. If one owner dies, the surviving owners remain the owners through the right of survivorship.. Get legal support to divide jointly owned real estate.
If only one person owns the property, consider whether it is fair to each of you if that person keeps the property. If it is not fair to each of you, the law of unjust enrichmentunjust enrichment A claim under property law principles that a person makes to protect property rightfully owed to them. To prove unjust enrichment, you must prove: 1. One person received an enrichment (benefit). 2. You suffered a loss or spent money on the property. 3. There is no legal reason for the enrichment (for example, it wasn’t a gift). comes into play.
To help you decide if one person is being unjustly enriched, answer the following questions:
For example, if you own the house you live in, is it fair for you to keep the house even though the other person put time and money into making it a home? Or if you have a line of credit but the other person used it to buy a vehicle registered to them, is it fair for you to be solely responsible for the debt while they keep the vehicle?
If it is fair for the person to keep the property they own, then divide the property based on who owns it.
If it is not fair to let the person keep the property they own, you have a few options:
- You and the other person can agree to divide the property fairly.
- If you and the other person cannot agree on how to fairly divide the property, then you can make a claim to court for unjust enrichment.
Example
Person A and Person B started dating a year ago and moved in together six months ago. They are now separating.
Before the relationship started, Person A had a car and savings in their name while Person B owned a house that they rent out. Person A and Person B picked out furniture together for their new rented home. Person A paid for it all. Person B sold their old furniture and paid for groceries and utilities for the household with the money.
According to general property principles, Person A would keep their car and savings and Person B would keep the house they own. Person A would also keep all the furniture because they paid for it.
However, Person B could make a claim against Person A for unjust enrichmentunjust enrichment A claim under property law principles that a person makes to protect property rightfully owed to them. To prove unjust enrichment, you must prove: 1. One person received an enrichment (benefit). 2. You suffered a loss or spent money on the property. 3. There is no legal reason for the enrichment (for example, it wasn’t a gift). for the furniture. Person B could argue that Person A gains all the furniture while they get no furniture and have used up the proceedsproceeds The money left from the sale of an asset after all the debts related to it are paid. For example, the proceeds from the sale of a house are the money left over after paying the mortgage owing, the realtor and the lawyer. from selling their old furniture to pay for household expenses. There is no legal reason for Person A to keep all the furniture.
Put it in writing
You can make an agreement yourselves or get help from a professional without going to court. If you and the other person cannot agree on how to divide everything up, you may have to ask the court to decide. Remember, going to court takes time and money. It should always be a last resort.
You can include how to divide your property in a separation agreement or in an agreement just about property.
There are rules for making your agreement valid, meaning it is binding on those who sign it and enforceable by the court if one person is not following it.
If you do not follow the steps below, your agreement might be invalid. This means the court can cancel the agreement and instead make an order dividing property.
- Share financial information about your property with each other before you make the agreement. Each person must understand all the property you are dividing and what property they are getting.
- Make a written agreement. Be clear and detailed about who gets what property.
- Get independent legal adviceindependent legal advice Advice that each person involved in a legal issue must get from their own lawyer. Usually the advice is about an agreement to resolve issues. Your lawyer will review the agreement with you to make sure you understand it. They will also let you know if the agreement is unfair or does not follow the law. The other person must see a different lawyer than you to get advice. (also known as ILA) before signing the agreement. This means each of you must meet with a different lawyer who will explain your rights and responsibilities under the law. The lawyer will sign a Certificate of Independent Legal Advice saying they met with you about the agreement and you understand what you are signing.
- Sign the agreement with your lawyer without the other person present. You must voluntarily sign the agreement. You should not sign it if the other person is pressuring you to sign it.
It is a good idea to sign four original copies of the agreement – one for you, one for the other person and copies for each of your lawyers. When you are done, each of you should have an original Certificate of Independent Legal Advice for yourself and the other person along with an original of the agreement.
Potential issues
One person is not sharing financial information.
Before you can make an agreement or ask the court to divide your property, you and the other person must share financial information with each other.
You need help figuring out what property is exempt.
Learn more about the different categories of property, including exempt property, on the Rules for dividing everything up page.
You and the other person need help coming to an agreement.
You can get help from a professional to come to an agreement outside of court. If doing so is not safe, you can ask the court to decide.
One person is pressuring the other person to sign an agreement.
Do not sign an agreement unless you fully understand what it says and are making your own decision to sign it. Get legal support if you feel pressured into or do not feel comfortable signing an agreement.