Joint Divorce Application in Alberta: How It Works and Who Can Use It

If you and your spouse both want a divorce and agree on the main issues, you may be able to apply together instead of one of you starting the case against the other. This can be simpler, because neither of you is the person being sued.

This article explains who can use a joint application in Alberta, what you both sign, and how the process differs from a one-spouse divorce. Your situation may have details that change things, so a lawyer can confirm what applies to you.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Who can apply together

The Divorce Act allows a divorce application to be made by either or both spouses, and the only ground is that the marriage has broken down. Alberta provides a set of joint forms for spouses who apply together.

You must also meet the residence test. One of you must have been habitually resident in Alberta for at least one year immediately before the proceeding starts. Only one spouse needs to meet it, and if neither of you has, you must wait. Habitually resident, in plain words, means Alberta is where you actually live on a settled basis.

The divorce itself is handled by the Court of King's Bench of Alberta. The Court of Justice and other Alberta courts cannot grant a divorce.

Showing the marriage has broken down

Breakdown can be shown in three ways: you have lived separate and apart for at least one year, there has been adultery, or there has been cruelty that makes living together intolerable. Most joint applications rely on separation.

• Separation: you must have been living apart for at least one year immediately before the divorce is decided, and be living apart when the proceeding starts.
• You can be separated under one roof only if you are in fact living apart.
• Getting back together for a period, or periods totalling, no more than ninety days with reconciliation as the main purpose does not interrupt the separation period.
• You can start before the year is up, but cannot ask for the Divorce Judgment until the year has passed.

What you both sign

The Court's joint package includes a Joint Statement of Claim for Divorce (Form FL-08), a Joint Request for Divorce (Form FL-22), a Joint Affidavit of Applicants for Divorce (Form FL-24), and a Joint Divorce Judgment (Form FL-25) or a Joint Divorce Judgment and Corollary Relief Order (Form FL-26).

Both spouses are applicants and sign the joint documents. The Court's instructions say the clerk at the Court of King's Bench Divorce Counter or staff at Resolution Services can act as Commissioner for Oaths for the joint affidavit. A Notice of Withdrawal for joint divorce proceedings (Form FL-09) is available if you change your minds. Every desk divorce package must also include a Desk Divorce Package Checklist.

How it differs from a one-spouse divorce

With a joint application, the steps and risks around serving papers disappear. In a one-spouse case, the Rule 3.26(1) deadline is one year after the claim is filed, and the Court can extend the time on an application filed before that year expires. The Court's instructions say a third party must serve the claim and strongly recommend a process server.

Joint divorce is for spouses who agree. If there are dependent children, you need the Child Support Data Sheet and Notice of Mandatory Seminar, and the judgment is Form FL-26. The court must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for the children's support. The Court's uncontested packages do not deal with property division, which uses a different form.

What to do next

• Confirm that at least one of you meets the one-year Alberta residence test.
• Decide how you will show breakdown, usually one year of living apart.
• Settle parenting and support, and talk to a lawyer about property, which the uncontested packages do not cover.
• Get the current joint forms and instructions from the Court of King's Bench and check which package fits.
• Confirm the current filing fee with the Court, and ask the registry whether a fee waiver can apply to a divorce filing.
• Generally, the divorce takes effect on the thirty-first day after the day the judgment granting it is rendered. A court can make it take effect earlier if it finds special circumstances and you both agree and undertake not to appeal, and an appeal still pending at the end of the 31 days delays it. After the Divorce Judgment is signed, you wait 31 days and then request your Certificate of Divorce through the online request form on the Court of King's Bench website.

Frequently asked questions