Family trusts have become more prevalent, with clients not only being the beneficiaries of family trusts, but also creating trusts for tax and estate planning purposes. The question for family law practitioners is how those interests are divided upon separation. In the context of matrimonial property division, this paper discusses the interests a spouse has in the family trust income or assets held by his or her partner, as well as trusts created during marriage.

This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Advanced Matrimonial Property program in Calgary on January 6, 2016 and in Edmonton on January 12, 2016.