Quebec's parental union: what changed for unmarried parents on 30 June 2025

For decades Quebec was the outlier. Unmarried couples (conjoints de fait) had no claim on each other's property at separation, however long they had lived together and however many children they had raised, a position the Supreme Court of Canada upheld in 2013. Bill 56 changed that for one group: unmarried parents. Since 30 June 2025, de facto spouses who have a child together are automatically in a parental union (union parentale), a new status in the Civil Code with its own rules on property, the family home and inheritance.

This guide explains who is covered, what the parental union patrimony is and is not, what happens at separation, how to opt in if your children were born earlier, how to opt out of the property rules, and what has not changed. It is based on Quebec government and Éducaloi material. The regime is new and the case law is thin, so treat this as orientation and confirm your situation with a notary or family lawyer in Quebec. For the wider picture, see FairWell's Quebec separation page and the guide de séparation au Québec in French.

Who is in a parental union

The Quebec government's conditions page sets out three requirements. You are in a parental union automatically if you and your partner:

1. Are de facto spouses (conjoints de fait): you live together as a couple (faire vie commune) and present yourselves publicly as a couple. The page notes: "Vous êtes présumés faire vie commune si vous habitez ensemble et que vous êtes les parents d'un même enfant" (you are presumed to be living together if you share a home and are parents of the same child).
2. Become parents of the same child on or after 30 June 2025, by birth or adoption. "L'union parentale se forme dès que vous et votre conjoint de fait devenez les parents d'un même enfant" (the parental union forms as soon as you and your de facto spouse become parents of the same child), and "Cela s'applique uniquement pour les naissances ou les adoptions qui surviennent à compter du 30 juin 2025" (this applies only to births or adoptions from 30 June 2025). A child born through surrogacy counts in the same way.
3. Are not married or in a civil union with each other or anyone else, and not in another parental union. "Une personne ne peut pas être dans deux unions en même temps, quel que soit le type d'union" (a person cannot be in two unions at the same time, whatever the type).

Some consequences follow. Couples without children are not covered at all. Couples who already had children together before 30 June 2025 are not covered automatically, though Éducaloi notes that if such a couple has another child after that date, the union begins at that birth or adoption. Couples who separate before the child is born or adopted do not enter the union. Close relatives cannot form one. There is no minimum period of cohabitation; the child is the trigger.

The parental union patrimony

The centrepiece is the patrimoine d'union parentale. The government's leaflet describes it as made up of "des résidences de la famille, des meubles de ces résidences ainsi que des véhicules automobiles" used for family travel: the family residences, the furniture in them, and the family vehicles. Éducaloi's explanation includes the principal residence and any secondary residences used by the family, such as a cottage, household furniture such as beds, sofas, televisions and appliances, and the family cars.

What is not in it matters as much. Éducaloi lists what is excluded by default: pension plans, salary earned during the union, RRSPs (REER), and property received by gift or inheritance, "Les biens reçus en cadeau ou en héritage sont exclus" (property received as a gift or inheritance is excluded), even if the family used it. The McGill Crépeau Centre's summary of the law makes the same point: unlike the family patrimony that applies to married couples, the parental union patrimony "does not include pension plans and Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSPs)." Bank accounts, investments and businesses are also outside it. Couples can add other property to the patrimony by written agreement during the union.

This is a much narrower pool than marriage creates. A married couple's family patrimony (patrimoine familial) includes retirement savings accumulated during the marriage; the parental union patrimony does not. Two parents will share the house and the cars at separation, and keep their own RRSPs.

What happens at separation

A parental union ends by separation (rupture), by the marriage or civil union of the partners with each other or with someone else, or by death. The government page states: "La fin de l'union parentale ne requiert pas de démarches judiciaires particulières, contrairement à un divorce" (ending a parental union requires no particular court procedure, unlike divorce). You separate, and the union is over; the paperwork is about dividing the patrimony.

Dividing the patrimony

The rule is equal division of net value. The leaflet: "la valeur des biens du patrimoine est partagée en parts égales entre les conjoints" (the value of the patrimony is divided in equal shares between the spouses). Éducaloi sets out the steps:

1. List the property in the patrimony, whichever partner's name it is in.
2. Value each item at market value at separation, not purchase price.
3. Subtract related debts, such as the mortgage or a car loan.
4. Deduct the value of property a partner owned before the union, the increase in that property's value during the union (plus-value), and any money from before the union, an inheritance or a gift that a partner put into repairs or improvements, along with the value those added.
5. Split what remains: "En règle générale, le montant qui reste est partagé à parts égales (50/50)."

Payment can be a lump sum or a transfer of property of equal value, such as the family car. A court can allow instalments over up to ten years in exceptional cases and secure them with a legal hypothec. A court can also depart from 50/50 in exceptional cases, Éducaloi gives the examples of a separation very soon after the union began or bad faith by one partner, and can order compensation where a partner sold or gave away patrimony property within the year before division, or earlier if it was done to reduce the other's share. Partners can also waive all or part of the division at separation; the leaflet notes this and a waiver should never be signed without independent advice.

The compensatory allowance

Before the reform, the compensatory allowance (prestation compensatoire) was available only to married and civil union spouses. It is now open to parents in a parental union. The leaflet describes it as a remedy for "Un conjoint qui se serait appauvri après avoir contribué à enrichir le patrimoine de l'autre conjoint" (a partner who became poorer after contributing to the enrichment of the other partner's property), whether the contribution was money or services. Éducaloi gives the example of giving up work to care for the children. It is a sum fixed by the court, it is exceptional, and it is not the same as spousal support.

The family residence

Two protections. During the union and until the separation is formalised, the family home cannot be sold, rented or mortgaged without the other partner's consent, even if it is in one partner's name: "elle ne peut pas être vendue, louée ou hypothéquée sans l'accord de l'autre parent." Éducaloi says this protection continues for 120 days after separation. At separation, the court "peut notamment attribuer un droit d'usage de la résidence familiale, pour un temps déterminé" (may grant a right of use of the family residence for a set period), typically to the parent who has custody of the children. For renters, the partner not on the lease can ask a judge for a temporary right to stay, and a judge can decide within 120 days who keeps the lease and furniture.

Children

Nothing about child support or parenting changed with this law. Child support between unmarried parents in Quebec was already governed by the Quebec child support model, and parenting arrangements by the best interests of the child. See FairWell's child support guide and parenting plan builder.

What has not changed: no spousal support

This is the point most often misunderstood. The parental union does not create a support obligation between the partners. Éducaloi is explicit: "il n'y a pas de pension alimentaire entre les parents (contrairement au mariage), sauf en cas d'entente" (there is no spousal support between the parents, unlike in marriage, unless they agree). A parent who stepped back from a career has the compensatory allowance and half the house, not ongoing support. Critics, including Professor Louise Langevin as reported by McGill, argued that the reform fell short for exactly this reason, given that about 65 percent of Quebec children are born to unmarried parents. If support matters to you, it has to be written into a cohabitation agreement, or you have to marry.

Inheritance without a will

Before the reform, a surviving de facto spouse inherited nothing without a will. Now, the leaflet confirms: "En l'absence de testament, un conjoint en union parentale pourra hériter du conjoint décédé" (without a will, a partner in a parental union can inherit from the deceased partner). Éducaloi puts the share at one third of the estate, with two thirds to the child or children. The patrimony is also divided on death, and the McGill summary notes that the survivor can ask that co-ownership of the family residence be maintained or that it be allocated to them. A will still overrides this, so if you want a different outcome, make one; see updating your will.

Opting in: children born before 30 June 2025

If you and your partner already had children together before the law took effect, you can choose to join. The government page: "votre adhésion est volontaire seulement" (your membership is voluntary only); both partners must agree, and the agreement is made either by notarial act (acte notarié) or by a written contract signed before two witnesses. Éducaloi adds that partners must be at least 18 and living together. The government offers an online tool to draft the agreement. Opting in gives you the patrimony, the compensatory allowance, the home protections and the inheritance rights. It does not give you spousal support.

Opting out: removing property, or the whole patrimony

Couples who are automatically in a parental union cannot opt out of the union itself, but they can change the property rules. The leaflet: partners may jointly remove property from the patrimony, or opt out of the patrimony entirely, and this "doit être fait par acte notarié" (must be done by notarial act); it cannot be done before the union begins. Éducaloi says the same: items on the default list "ne peuvent être retirés que par contrat signé devant une ou un notaire" (can only be removed by a contract signed before a notary), while items can be added by ordinary written agreement. The McGill summary refers to a window of three months after the birth or adoption of the first child for excluding the patrimony entirely; confirm the current time limit with a notary before relying on it, because missing it changes what you can do.

A typical use: one partner owned the house before the relationship and wants to keep it out. Both partners must agree, and the McGill summary notes that notaries and lawyers are expected to watch for signs of abuse within the couple when agreements are made or property is divided, so expect to be seen separately.

What to do now

• Work out whether you are covered. A child born or adopted together from 30 June 2025, living together, not married: you are in. Children only before that date: you are not, unless you opt in.
• List what is in the patrimony and who owns it. The house, cottage, furniture and cars. Note what each of you brought in and any inheritance or gift money spent on the home, with documents, because those amounts come off before the split.
• Decide, together, whether to change the defaults. Add property, remove property, or exclude the patrimony. See a notary. Do it early, while you both still like each other.
• Deal with what the law leaves out. A cohabitation agreement (contrat de vie commune) can cover support, division of other property, and what happens to investments and businesses. FairWell's cohabitation agreement page explains the approach; have a Quebec notary or lawyer finalise it.
• Make or update your wills and beneficiary designations. The one-third intestate share is a floor, not a plan.
• If you are separating now, get the valuations and the before-union figures together, try mediation, and get independent advice before signing any division or waiver. The FairWell directory lists Quebec mediators, notaries and family lawyers.

The parental union is a real improvement for the parent who would otherwise have left a shared home with nothing. It is also narrower than many assume. Knowing which side of 30 June 2025 your children fall on, and what the patrimony contains, is where planning starts.

Sources

1. À propos de l'union parentale (Gouvernement du Québec)
2. Conditions pour être en union parentale (Gouvernement du Québec)
3. Fin de l'union parentale (Gouvernement du Québec)
4. Feuillet: L'union parentale (Ministère de la Justice du Québec)
5. Parental Union: New Rights for Common-Law Couples With Children (Éducaloi)
6. Être en union parentale (Éducaloi)
7. Le partage des biens et les finances après la séparation d'un couple en union parentale (Éducaloi)
8. The parental union: a new law for de facto spouses (Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law, McGill University)

This guide is general information for parents, not medical, psychological or legal advice. It draws on published research and guidance from recognised health and family justice bodies, listed under Sources. Every child and family is different. If you are worried about your child or yourself, talk to your family doctor or a qualified professional. FairWell can help you find one through the professional directory. How we write and check our guides.