FAMILY EVENTS
Prepare well and cope with changes in the family
Birth
For future moms, Meilleur départ – Une grossesse saine pour un bébé sain is a useful resource during pregnancy and once the baby has arrived home.
It’s never too early to ask for a social insurance number for your baby. Once you have obtained it, you will also be able to start saving for your studies.
Marriage
It is not mandatory to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in order to get married in Alberta. However, you must have valid identification documents.
The conditions to be able to marry:
- be single or divorced (polygamy or polyandry are not allowed in Alberta),
- not to have a blood relationship with their partner (consanguineous marriages are prohibited by law),
- be 18 years old or older, or have the consent of the parents if one of the two persons is 16 or 17 years old, or obtain authorization from a judge and the consent of the parents if one of the persons is under 16 years old,
- have the full capacity to express their free and informed consent (forced marriages are also prohibited by law).
The steps to follow before getting married:
- One can choose between a religious celebration or a civil celebration. Both are equally recognized by law.
- We must then find a marriage commissioner who will perform the celebration. Depending on the chosen style of marriage, this person can be a religious representative or a civil person.
- Once this step is completed, an application must be filed with a representative of the registry office (Alberta Registries) in order to obtain a marriage license. We then receive a wedding registration form that must be signed by the bride and groom, two adult witnesses and the marriage commissioner on the day of the celebration.
The marriage license is valid for three months following the date of issue.
After the celebration, another process begins:
The marriage commissioner will forward the registration form to Alberta Vital Statistics no later than two days after the wedding. The marriage certificate will then be sent to the bride and groom by mail.
In Alberta, change of name after marriage is not required. You have the choice to keep your last name, change it to that of your partner, or choose a combination of your own last name and that of your partner. In the latter case, the order of the two names is entirely up to you. The two nouns can be separated by a hyphen or only by a space. When a person decides to change their surname after marriage, they must proceed with the change for all their identity documents by contacting each institution.
Couples who wish to celebrate their marriage in French can do so:
- If it is a religious wedding, it will have to be celebrated by a religious representative or a member of the clergy who has his license as a marriage commissioner.
- If it is a civil marriage, consult the list of wedding commissioners (Marriage Commissioner List) to find a person who speaks French, or ask the question around you.
For more information, visit Service Alberta (in English) related to marriage.
Death
Planning one’s own funeral is something many people would rather not think about. However, the better prepared we are, the less burden will rest on the shoulders of our loved ones.
All deaths within the province must be reported to the Alberta government.
Will and estates
The will is a legal document in which a person indicates how they want their assets to be distributed after their death. It also allows the designation of an estate representative who will be responsible for carrying out his/her last wishes. The will only comes into effect after death and has no legal consequences before that.
If you live in Alberta and die without making a will, by law your estate is divided among the members of your immediate family (spouse by right, adult interdependent partner, children). If there are no immediate family members, the estate goes to other close relatives based on blood ties.
If you have not made a will and you have no known next of kin, the distribution of the estate falls under the Unclaimed Personal Property and Vested Property Act. Unclaimed property is recorded in a register maintained by the Taxation and Revenue Administration Division on behalf of the Minister of Treasury Board and Finance for Alberta. She will make every effort to find relatives, but if her search is unsuccessful, the estate will be turned over to the Government of Alberta.
