LESA’s recent family law paper, Applying Anderson v Anderson to Alberta Property-Division Contracts, analyzes the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent Anderson v Anderson, 2023 SCC 13 decision and the principles of contract law it engages.
Anderson dealt with an older Saskatchewan couple who were married for three years. Upon separation, they drafted a seven-paragraph domestic contract and signed it, witnesses by two friends. Lawyers were not involved, thus no section 38 acknowledgment under the Saskatchewan Family Property Act. Two years later, after deciding he did not want to follow this action, Mr. Anderson sued for division of family property. The ensuing litigation went to the Supreme Court of Canada, which upheld the agreement stating that domestic contracts should be encouraged and supported by the courts.
The principles of the Anderson decision as well as an analysis of how Alberta courts will likely apply the Andersondecision is discussed in this paper.
Highlights include:
- Principles from the Anderson decision
- Comparison of the Saskatchewan and Alberta Family Property Acts
- Statue-specific criteria and objectives and summary of the Anderson test
- Negotiation integrity – uniquely vulnerable circumstances
- Effect of section 38 acknowledgment
- Financial disclosure
LESA wishes to thank Gordon H. Andreiuk for preparing this comprehensive paper.
If you are a complete LESA Library subscriber or if you subscribe to the family law collection on the LESA Library you can access this paper as part of your annual subscription here.
If you are not yet a LESA Library subscriber, you can purchase this paper for immediate download here.
