Canada · QC · ca-qc-marriage_contract-2026-09-12.1
Quebec marriage contract research: Civil Code of Québec, CQLR c. CCQ-1991, arts. 391, 414–426, 431–443. Unmarried default: civil code no family patrimony.
Québec a son propre dossier de contrat de mariage. Quebec marriage contract research: Civil Code of Québec, CQLR c. CCQ-1991, arts. 391, 414–426, 431–443. Unmarried default: civil code no family patrimony. Ce n'est pas un prenup américain et ce n'est pas le droit d'une province voisine recopié.
Québec a aussi un dossier de contrat de vie commune. Les conjoints de fait n'entrent pas dans le patrimoine familial par la cohabitation. This pack is the cohabitation track. Do not treat it as a marriage contract or as Swedish samboavtal.
Les deux instruments restent séparés à dessein. Un fichier intitulé prenup doit encore être classé comme contrat de mariage ou contrat de vie commune selon l'état civil des parties et la forme Québec.
contrat de mariage
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.
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.
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.
A marriage contract typically addresses property, debts, and sometimes support between spouses. Public-order limits (Québec family patrimony; child support everywhere) still apply.
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 and parental authority are not ordinary contractual subjects. Flag any child waiver.
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.
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.
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.
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.
contrat de vie commune
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.
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.
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.
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 between spouses follows the Code and federal divorce law where applicable. A marriage contract is not a complete substitute for support analysis.
Child support and parental authority are not ordinary contractual subjects. Flag any child waiver.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Questions
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.
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.
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.
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.
Child support and parental authority are not ordinary contractual subjects. Flag any child waiver. Support between spouses follows the Code and federal divorce law where applicable. A marriage contract is not a complete substitute for support analysis.
Exemples
La question utile est de savoir s'il s'agit d'un contrat de mariage ou d'un contrat de vie commune selon que les parties sont mariées, sur le point de l'être, ou en union de fait. Les sources de Québec restent les seules citations autorisées.
Une clause d'égalisation ontarienne, de biens exclus britanno-colombiens ou de patrimoine familial québécois n'est pas interchangeable. 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.
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.
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