Checklist
One row per catalogued topic, for both instruments. An empty row is a package gap, not a claim that no law exists.
formalities
Marriage contracts and separation agreements under Nova Scotia family statutes generally require writing and signatures. This is not Québec notarial form.
acknowledgment
Marriage contracts and separation agreements under Nova Scotia family statutes generally require writing and signatures. This is not Québec notarial form.
property
Matrimonial assets are divided under the MPA for married spouses, with its own exemptions and matrimonial-home rules.
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld Nova Scotia’s choice to limit matrimonial-property legislation to married spouses.
permitted_subjects
A marriage contract typically addresses property, debts, and sometimes support between spouses. Public-order limits (Québec family patrimony; child support everywhere) still apply.
spousal_support
Unmarried partners may still have support claims under provincial support statutes even without MPA property division.
child_support
Child support is not waived by a cohabitation clause.
voluntariness
Unconscionability, disclosure, and understanding remain contract and family-law questions. Do not cite Ontario s. 56(4) as Nova Scotia law.
financial_disclosure
Canadian family agreements are often judged partly on whether each party knew the assets and debts. This pack does not invent a U.S. statutory disclosure exhibit list.
independent_counsel
Canadian family agreements often stand or fall partly on whether each party could get advice. That is not a uniform statutory certificate across provinces, and Québec notarial counseling is a different professional model from common-law ILA letters.
timing
A first draft delivered immediately before a wedding is a voluntariness and understanding fact. Canada does not use a single U.S.-style statutory waiting period in these packs.
limitations
Do not analyze Nova Scotia unmarried couples as if they were BC FLA spouses.
formalities
Unmarried partners may still make private property contracts. Those contracts are not an automatic ticket into the Matrimonial Property Act.
acknowledgment
Unmarried partners may still make private property contracts. Those contracts are not an automatic ticket into the Matrimonial Property Act.
property
The Matrimonial Property Act is built around married spouses. Walsh v. Bona held that excluding unmarried couples from that statute was constitutional. Unmarried Nova Scotians do not get MPA division by cohabiting. Registered domestic-partnership opt-in, if used, is a separate statutory path a lawyer must check.
permitted_subjects
A cohabitation agreement typically addresses property and debts between unmarried partners. It cannot manufacture a statutory regime the province does not confer, and it cannot replace a will.
spousal_support
Unmarried partners may still have support claims under provincial support statutes even without MPA property division.
child_support
Child support is not waived by a cohabitation clause.
voluntariness
Unconscionability, disclosure, and understanding remain contract and family-law questions. Do not cite Ontario s. 56(4) as Nova Scotia law.
financial_disclosure
Canadian family agreements are often judged partly on whether each party knew the assets and debts. This pack does not invent a U.S. statutory disclosure exhibit list.
independent_counsel
Canadian family agreements often stand or fall partly on whether each party could get advice. That is not a uniform statutory certificate across provinces, and Québec notarial counseling is a different professional model from common-law ILA letters.
timing
A cohabitation agreement signed years into a relationship, or a 'prenup' signed while unmarried just before a wedding, raises classification and transition questions. Marriage usually moves the couple onto the marriage-contract / marital-property statute.
limitations
Do not analyze Nova Scotia unmarried couples as if they were BC FLA spouses.