Parental Union: What Changes for Common-Law Parents

Since 30 June 2025, common-law partners who become parents of the same child are automatically subject to a regime that protects the family home, the household furniture and the family vehicles.

Julie and Marc have lived together for eight years in a bungalow in the Aylmer sector of Gatineau. Marc bought the house before they met and it is in his name alone. Julie paid for the groceries, half the municipal taxes and the kitchen renovation, without ever signing anything. In November 2025, their daughter was born. The couple has no contract, no will, and has never set foot in a notary’s office. What they do not know is that the birth of their daughter did far more than fill the back bedroom: overnight, and without a single step on their part, it placed them inside a brand-new legal regime. Their neighbours across the street, parents of a boy born in 2023, are not subject to it. Here is why that date makes all the difference.

Who is covered, and the 30 June 2025 trap

The parental union (union parentale) is a new status created by the family law reform adopted in 2024 and in force since 30 June 2025. It arises automatically as soon as two common-law partners become the parents of the same child, or as soon as the parents of the same child become common-law partners. Two people are common-law partners for these purposes when they live together and publicly present themselves as a couple, regardless of how long they have done so. No minimum period of three years is required, contrary to what certain tax and social legislation provides. The Code adds a useful presumption: people who cohabit and are the parents of the same child are presumed to be living together.

There are two impediments, but they do not operate the same way. People who are ascendant and descendant of one another, or brother and sister, can never form a parental union. A person still married, in a civil union or already in a parental union with someone else, however, is not excluded: the parental union with the new partner will form on its own, with no further step, on the day the earlier tie comes to an end (art. 521.20 C.C.Q.). It is a postponement, not a prohibition — and that postponed date becomes the starting point for building the patrimony.

Here lies the trap, and it is a major one: the regime covers only those who become the parents of a common child after 29 June 2025. If your youngest child was born in 2019, nothing applies to you at all, even if you have lived together for twenty years. You remain ordinary common-law partners, with the near-total absence of protection the Civil Code affords them — the enduring legacy of the Lola case. The rule also works in reverse: two people who had a child in 2020 and only begin living together in 2026 do not form a parental union either. What matters is not the date you moved in together, but the date filiation was established as to both parents. Another useful nuance: if a third child is born after 29 June 2025 into a family whose two older children predate that date, the parental union is formed at that moment — which brings with it the procedural headache of siblings split between two courts.

A couple that is not covered but nonetheless wishes to obtain these protections may opt in voluntarily. That requires a notarial act en minute or a written agreement signed in the presence of two witnesses — what JuridiQC calls a convention d’assujettissement. Note carefully: the union is formed on the date of signature, not retroactively to the child’s birth.

The parental union patrimony: what is in, what stays out

A parental union automatically creates a “parental union patrimony”. The term sounds daunting, but the idea is simple: it is a list of assets whose value will have to be shared at the end of the union, regardless of which partner officially owns them.

That list is short and closed: the family residences, including the cottage, or the rights that confer their use; the furniture in those residences that garnishes or decorates them and is used by the household, such as the bed, the couch, the television or the appliances; and the motor vehicles used for the family’s travel. If the family lives in one unit of a triplex owned by one of the partners, only the portion occupied by the family is covered, and its value is established in proportion to that unit’s share of the building.

What stays outside is just as important. Unlike the family patrimony of married couples, the parental union patrimony does not include RRSPs, pension plans or credits registered under the Quebec Pension Plan. Also excluded are assets received by succession or gift, whether before or during the union. One nuance is in order, though: “excluded from the patrimony” does not mean “not shareable”. Former common-law partners may still apply for partition of the credits registered under the Quebec Pension Plan, on conditions of that statute’s own. The classic mistake remains: believing you have just obtained the equivalent of marriage. You have not, and several stakeholders, including the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires, criticized the bill for a basket of assets too thin to genuinely protect the vulnerable partner. That debate is not closed.

On separation: sharing the net value, with no spousal support

A parental union ends in four situations: the death of one partner, the cessation of living together, the partners’ marriage or civil union to each other, and — the case most often forgotten — the marriage or civil union of one of them to a third person. What is then divided is not the assets themselves, but their net value. In practical terms, you list the covered assets, establish their market value, subtract the debts contracted to acquire, improve, maintain or preserve them, then deduct the value each partner contributed, the corresponding appreciation, and any inheritance or gift money invested in those assets. What remains is generally split down the middle.

One technical point deserves attention, because it differs from marriage. The value is established as at the date the right to partition arises (art. 521.35 C.C.Q.) — in practice, the end of the union. For married spouses, the reference date is instead the institution of proceedings, with judicial discretion to move it. Here the date is fixed and the court has no such discretion: it is the real estate market at separation that counts, not the market on the day the application is filed. The court may, however, on application, depart from the 50-50 split where equal partition would result in an injustice, having regard in particular to the brief duration of the union, the dissipation of certain property or a partner’s bad faith.

There is no spousal support between partners in a parental union, unless they agree otherwise — and such an agreement remains a contractual undertaking, not support in the legal sense. However, a partner who has become poorer while enriching the other — the one who left a job to run the household while the other built a business, for example — may claim a compensatory allowance (art. 521.43 C.C.Q.), which may be proved by any means. It is the counterpart of the remedy already available to spouses in divorce proceedings. A word of caution: this remedy is not a tool for equalizing the two patrimonies at the end of the union. You must demonstrate a concrete contribution, in property or in services, and the corresponding enrichment. The court awards the lesser of the impoverishment suffered or the enrichment conferred.

The family residence: a protection you cannot contract out of

This is perhaps the most immediate effect of the regime: the rules governing the family residence of married spouses now apply to partners in a parental union. Even where the house is in one partner’s name alone, that partner cannot sell it or lease out the part reserved for the family without the other’s written consent; and where the building has fewer than five dwellings, neither can that partner hypothecate it. Nor can that partner sell the household furniture or remove it from the residence. If you are tenants and the lease is in one name only, the tenant on the lease cannot, once the landlord has been notified that the dwelling is the family residence, assign the lease, sublet it or terminate it without the other partner’s written consent.

Here is the advice worth the most, and few people know it: for an immovable, a sale made without your consent can be annulled only if a declaration of family residence was registered in the land register beforehand (art. 404 C.C.Q.). Without that registration, the sale stands and all you are left with is a claim in damages against your partner. Registration costs a few dozen dollars and is done quickly. In my view, it is the first thing the non-owner partner should do.

This protection survives the cessation of living together by 120 days and, unlike the parental union patrimony, cannot be waived by contract. A second 120-day period, equally short, belongs in your calendar: applications for the ownership or use of the household furniture, or for the lease or a right of use of the family residence, must be brought before the court no later than 120 days after the end of the union (art. 521.27 C.C.Q.). After that, the door is closed.

The notarial contract: adjusting, opting out, and thinking about death

The regime leaves a way out, but a tightly supervised one. The partners may, by mutual agreement, add an asset to the patrimony — their RRSPs, for example — through a simple contract between them. Removing an asset, however, or deciding that no parental union patrimony will be formed at all, requires a notarial act en minute, on pain of absolute nullity. Timing matters: done within 90 days of the beginning of the union — in practice, the birth or adoption of the common child — the withdrawal operates as if the patrimony had never existed; done later, it applies only for the future.

And here is the trap that even well-advised partners miss: where an asset is excluded from the patrimony during the union, its net value as at the time of the exclusion still counts toward the value to be shared. Excluding the house in 2028 therefore does not erase what accumulated between 2025 and 2028. Finally, withdrawing from the patrimony does not take you out of the regime: the protection of the family residence and the compensatory allowance continue to apply, because they are of public order.

One last piece, often forgotten: succession. Since 30 June 2025, a partner in a parental union is a legal heir (art. 653 C.C.Q.). If you die without a will, your partner takes one third of your estate and your children share the other two thirds. Three caveats, however. A common-law partner who is not in a parental union still inherits nothing. The union must exist at the time of death: someone who had already stopped living with you is no longer a surviving partner. And the partition of the parental union patrimony, like the compensatory allowance, is settled before the devolution of the estate, so the one third is calculated on the balance. You remain free to provide otherwise by will, but your partner will keep the right to half the shareable value of the parental union patrimony, and your heirs will then owe that amount as a debt.

Key takeaways

Check one thing only: did you become the parents of the same child after 29 June 2025? If so, you are in a parental union without having signed anything. If not, nothing applies automatically, but you may opt in before a notary or before two witnesses.
The parental union patrimony is limited to the family residences, the household furniture and the family vehicles. RRSPs, pension plans, inheritances and gifts are excluded.
On separation, the net value of those assets is shared, generally in equal parts, established as at the end of the union rather than at the date of the proceedings.
There is no spousal support between partners, but a compensatory allowance is available to the partner who became poorer for the other’s benefit.
The protection of the family residence covers even a home owned by one partner alone and cannot be waived. For a sale made without your consent to be annullable, register a declaration of family residence in the land register.
Two 120-day periods to watch after separation: the survival of the protective measures, and the filing of applications concerning the household furniture or the lease.
To withdraw from the patrimony, see a notary within 90 days of the birth. After that deadline, the withdrawal operates only for the future, and the value already accumulated remains shareable.

Frequently asked questions about the parental union

Am I in a parental union if my child was born before 30 June 2025?

Not automatically. The regime applies of its own force only to those who became the parents of the same child after 29 June 2025. You may, however, opt in voluntarily, by notarial act en minute or by a written agreement signed before two witnesses. The union is then formed on the date of signature.

Does a parental union entitle me to spousal support?

No. There is no support obligation between partners in a parental union. Only child support remains payable, under the usual rules. The impoverished partner may, however, claim a compensatory allowance.

Are my RRSPs part of the parental union patrimony?

No. RRSPs, pension plans and credits registered under the Quebec Pension Plan are excluded from the parental union patrimony, unlike the family patrimony of married spouses. The partners may nonetheless agree to add an asset, including their RRSPs, by a simple contract between them.

Can my partner sell the house that is in their name alone?

Not without your written consent, if it is the family residence. But for the sale to be annullable, a declaration of family residence must have been registered in the land register before the sale. Failing that, all you are left with is a claim in damages.

How do we opt out of the parental union patrimony?

By a notarial act en minute signed by both partners, on pain of absolute nullity. Signed within 90 days of the beginning of the union, the withdrawal is fully retroactive. After that, it applies only for the future. Withdrawing does not take you out of the regime: the protection of the family residence remains.

Parental Union: What Changes for Common-Law Parents in Quebec