Canada · NB · ca-nb-marriage_contract-2026-09-12.1
New Brunswick marriage contract research: Marital Property Act, S.N.B. 2012, c. 107. Unmarried default: no automatic property.
New Brunswick has its own marriage-contract pack. New Brunswick marriage contract research: Marital Property Act, S.N.B. 2012, c. 107. Unmarried default: no automatic property. This is not a U.S. prenup and it is not a neighbouring province’s statute with the names swapped.
New Brunswick also has a cohabitation-agreement pack. Unmarried partners do not automatically receive the married property-division statute. This pack is the cohabitation track. Do not treat it as a marriage contract or as Swedish samboavtal.
The two instruments stay apart on purpose. A file titled prenup still has to be classified as a marriage contract or a cohabitation agreement based on whether the parties are married, about to marry, or unmarried, and on New Brunswick form.
marriage contract
Marriage contracts and other domestic contracts under New Brunswick family statutes are written instruments. Bilingual official texts exist; this pack uses the English CanLII reproduction.
Marriage contracts and other domestic contracts under New Brunswick family statutes are written instruments. Bilingual official texts exist; this pack uses the English CanLII reproduction.
Marital property in New Brunswick is a provincial sharing scheme for spouses, with its own marital-home rules.
A marriage contract typically addresses property, debts, and sometimes support between spouses. Public-order limits (Québec family patrimony; child support everywhere) still apply.
Support for married and unmarried partners can arise under other New Brunswick family statutes even when property division does not.
Child support is not a private bargain that ends the child’s claim.
Disclosure, independent advice, and unconscionability are lawyer questions under provincial and common-law rules. Do not cite Ontario s. 56(4) as if it were in force here.
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.
New Brunswick is officially bilingual. Do not assume an English draft is the only text a court would read.
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.
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.
cohabitation agreement
Unmarried partners may contract about property they own. That is not automatic entry into the Marital Property Act.
Unmarried partners may contract about property they own. That is not automatic entry into the Marital Property Act.
Marital-property division is built for married spouses. Common-law partners in New Brunswick should not be analyzed as if they were BC unmarried spouses or Ontario Part I spouses.
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.
Support for married and unmarried partners can arise under other New Brunswick family statutes even when property division does not.
Child support is not a private bargain that ends the child’s claim.
Disclosure, independent advice, and unconscionability are lawyer questions under provincial and common-law rules. Do not cite Ontario s. 56(4) as if it were in force here.
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.
New Brunswick is officially bilingual. Do not assume an English draft is the only text a court would read.
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.
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.
Common questions
Marital property in New Brunswick is a provincial sharing scheme for spouses, with its own marital-home rules.
Marital-property division is built for married spouses. Common-law partners in New Brunswick should not be analyzed as if they were BC unmarried spouses or Ontario Part I spouses.
Marriage contracts and other domestic contracts under New Brunswick family statutes are written instruments. Bilingual official texts exist; this pack uses the English CanLII reproduction.
Disclosure, independent advice, and unconscionability are lawyer questions under provincial and common-law rules. Do not cite Ontario s. 56(4) as if it were in force here.
Child support is not a private bargain that ends the child’s claim. Support for married and unmarried partners can arise under other New Brunswick family statutes even when property division does not.
Worked examples
The useful question is whether it is a marriage contract or a cohabitation agreement given the parties’ status. New Brunswick sources are the only citations this page will use.
Ontario equalization language, British Columbia excluded-property language, and Québec family-patrimony language are not interchangeable. New Brunswick is officially bilingual. Do not assume an English draft is the only text a court would read.
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.
For a lawyer