Joint vs Sole Decision-Making Responsibility in Alberta

When parents separate, one of the first worries is who gets the final say on the big things: health care, school, religion. Many parents also wonder how much of that say they keep if the child lives mostly with the other parent.

The law separates the big decisions from the everyday ones, and it separates both from the schedule. This article explains those pieces in plain language, how Alberta's guardianship rules fit in, and where a court gets involved.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Decision-making responsibility versus parenting time

Under the Divorce Act, decision-making responsibility means the responsibility for making significant decisions about a child's well-being. Parenting time is the time a child spends in the care of a person. They are separate ideas, and a parent can have one without the other in the amount they hoped for.

The Divorce Act describes these as significant decisions about the child's well-being, and a court can allocate that responsibility in different ways. Which decisions count as significant in your family can depend on the facts, so a lawyer can help you sort that out.

Who can hold decision-making responsibility

Where a divorce action has started, the Divorce Act lets the court give decision-making responsibility to one spouse, to both spouses, or to a person other than a spouse who is a party to the application. That means it can be sole or joint, and it can be divided by subject. If no divorce action has been started by you or the other guardian and the child lives in Alberta, you can apply under the Family Law Act instead. A parenting order under that Act can divide parenting time, assign specific responsibilities, or set a process for resolving future disputes.

Whichever option applies, a person given decision-making responsibility must exercise it consistently with the child's best interests. When making a parenting order, the court considers only the child's best interests.

Everyday decisions and access to information

Under the Divorce Act, unless the court orders otherwise, the person who has parenting time has exclusive authority to make day-to-day decisions affecting the child during that time. So even where decision-making is joint, the parent who has the child on a given day generally handles the daily routine. How day-to-day decisions are handled under the Family Law Act depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Unless the court orders otherwise, a person with parenting time or decision-making responsibility may also ask the other person who has it, or third parties, for information about the child's well-being, such as health and education.

• Big decisions follow the decision-making arrangement.
• In a divorce proceeding, day-to-day choices belong to the parent with the child at that time, unless the court orders otherwise.
• Information requests about health and education are allowed unless the court orders otherwise.

How this works in Alberta: guardianship and the Family Law Act

In Alberta, the ability to make decisions about a child is tied to guardianship, not parentage status. A guardian under the Family Law Act is a guardian for all legal purposes, and in most cases a child's parents are also guardians.

After separation, guardians who agree can keep exercising guardianship powers without a court order. If they disagree, either guardian can apply for a parenting order, which can divide parenting time, assign specific responsibilities, or set a process for resolving future disputes. If they still cannot agree, a judge decides based on the child's best interests.

To apply for a Family Law Act parenting order, you use Claim – Family Law Act, Affidavit of Service – Applicant, and either Statement – Parenting (to share responsibilities and decision-making) or Statement – Parenting (Sole Guardian). You can apply if neither you nor the other guardian has started a divorce action and the child lives in Alberta. Once a divorce action has started, parenting is dealt with under the Divorce Act instead.

Not every parent is automatically a guardian. For example, an unmarried father may be one if he lived with the mother for at least 12 months including when the child was born, or was married to her when the child was born. There are other routes, including a court order or a written agreement with the other parent. A parent who is not a guardian can apply for a Guardianship Order.

Parenting plans, conflict and what to do next

If a divorce action has started and the parties submit a parenting plan, the Divorce Act requires the court to include it in the parenting order unless it is not in the child's best interests. Under the Divorce Act, parties must also protect the child from conflict, try family dispute resolution where appropriate, give complete, accurate and up-to-date information when required, and comply with an order until it is no longer in effect. How these duties apply if your case is under the Family Law Act depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

• Write down which decisions you expect to share and which one parent would handle.
• Confirm whether you and the other parent are both guardians.
• Try to agree on a written parenting plan.
• Take the Parenting After Separation course, which is required before filing a divorce or Family Law Act application in the Court of King's Bench.
• Talk to a lawyer before filing, especially if safety is a concern or you disagree on the big decisions.

Frequently asked questions