Common questions
If we never sign, what does this province divide?
Read the province page. In Ontario, unmarried partners do not get Part I equalization. In British Columbia, unmarried spouses can have Part 5 claims after two years or a child. In Québec, de facto spouses do not enter family patrimony by living together. The answer is the whole point of thirteen packs.
Is this the same as a Swedish samboavtal?
No. Sambolagen divides a narrow class of joint dwelling and household goods. Canadian provinces either fold many unmarried partners into spouse-like property statutes or they do not. There is no national sambolag.
Do we need witnesses?
Often yes in the Ontario-style domestic-contract provinces. Québec de facto agreements are not marriage contracts and are not notarial family-patrimony instruments. Check the province pack rather than assuming one form.
Can a cohabitation agreement replace a will?
No. Unmarried partners are often not intestate heirs. The agreement may allocate property between the living parties; it is not a substitute for estate planning.
What if one of us already owned the home?
Title, excluded property, resulting trust, unjust enrichment, and statutory family property are different tools in different provinces. The document question is which statute actually reaches unmarried partners, not who paid the last mortgage installment.
We are getting married next year. Keep this file?
Keep it as evidence of what you intended while unmarried. Ask counsel whether you also need a marriage contract in the new province’s form. Do not assume the old PDF becomes a marriage contract by changing the title.