Can I Reconcile and Still Keep the One-Year Separation Period in Alberta?
This answer covers the law of Alberta.
Often, yes. Under the Divorce Act, a short return to living together does not restart the one-year separation period if the stay totals no more than 90 days and its main purpose was reconciliation. Longer cohabitation, or cohabitation for other reasons, can break the period.
The rule behind this is that a divorce based on marriage breakdown is established when spouses have lived separate and apart for at least one year immediately before the divorce is decided. Spouses are treated as living apart for any period when they lived apart and either of them intended to live separate and apart. Another exception applies if a spouse became unable to form or keep that intention and the court thinks the separation would likely have continued otherwise.
Because the test turns on intention, not addresses, spouses who share a home can still be treated as separated if at least one intends to live separately. Whether your situation fits depends on the facts, such as how long you lived together again and why, so confirm it with a lawyer before relying on it.
Key takeaways
- Living together again for no more than 90 days in total, with reconciliation as the main purpose, does not interrupt the separation period.
- Longer stays, or stays for other main purposes, can break the separation period.
- A divorce on the ground of marriage breakdown requires at least one year living separate and apart before the divorce is determined.
- Spouses who share a home may still be treated as separated if at least one intends to live separately, so a lawyer can confirm how your facts fit.