Checklist
One row per catalogued topic, for both instruments. An empty row is a package gap, not a claim that no law exists.
formalities
A marriage contract is made by notarial act, except where the Code permits another form. This is not Ontario witnessing and not a U.S. acknowledgment.
acknowledgment
A marriage contract is made by notarial act, except where the Code permits another form. This is not Ontario witnessing and not a U.S. acknowledgment.
property
Default regime is partnership of acquests unless a marriage contract chooses another permitted regime. Family patrimony (family residence, furniture, vehicles, certain retirement rights) is a separate public-order mass.
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
Support between spouses follows the Code and federal divorce law where applicable. A marriage contract is not a complete substitute for support analysis.
child_support
Child support and parental authority are not ordinary contractual subjects. Flag any child waiver.
voluntariness
Family patrimony rules are of public order. Spouses cannot opt out of family patrimony by a marriage contract the way common-law provinces let spouses contract around equalization. Lesion, consent, and notarial formalities are the Québec questions—not s. 56(4) FLA.
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 apply Ontario FLA equalization, British Columbia FLA unmarried-spouse property, or U.S. UPAA formalities to Québec. French and English versions of the Code are official; this pack cites the English LégisQuébec text.
formalities
De facto spouses may make private agreements about property they own, but those writings are not a marriage contract and do not create the family patrimony.
acknowledgment
De facto spouses may make private agreements about property they own, but those writings are not a marriage contract and do not create the family patrimony.
property
De facto spouses do not enter family patrimony by cohabiting. Property follows title, ordinary contract, and unjust-enrichment ideas a lawyer may assess—not the married spouses’ family patrimony.
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
Support between spouses follows the Code and federal divorce law where applicable. A marriage contract is not a complete substitute for support analysis.
child_support
Child support and parental authority are not ordinary contractual subjects. Flag any child waiver.
voluntariness
Family patrimony rules are of public order. Spouses cannot opt out of family patrimony by a marriage contract the way common-law provinces let spouses contract around equalization. Lesion, consent, and notarial formalities are the Québec questions—not s. 56(4) FLA.
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 apply Ontario FLA equalization, British Columbia FLA unmarried-spouse property, or U.S. UPAA formalities to Québec. French and English versions of the Code are official; this pack cites the English LégisQuébec text.