Publications
Dower Act, Final Report 118
The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) is recommending replacing the Dower Act with new legislation. The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is solely owned by the other spouse. It has two features that prevent a non-owner spouse from losing their home unexpectedly: Consent to disposition: The owner cannot sell, lease, mortgage, or otherwise transfer the homestead without the non-owner’s consent. Life estate: After the owner’s death, the non-owner can keep the homestead for […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Property |
| TAGS | home, disposition, real estate, wills, consent, contract, dower, estate, marriage, Rights |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | FR118.pdf |
September 26, 2022
Alberta Dower Act Consultation Summary
This document summarizes the results of consultations ALRI conducted for the it’s law reform project on the Alberta Dower Act. ALRI ran two online surveys. Both surveys were open from 3 December 2021 to 7 March 2022. One survey was aimed at the general public – the general survey. Another survey was aimed at professionals who use the Dower Act in their work, including lawyers, real estate brokers and agents, landmen, and estate planners or administrators […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Property Real Property |
| TAGS | homeowner, trailer, bank, occupant, landmen, homeless, adult interdependent partner, estate plan, condo, life estate, home, homestead, house, husband, wife, disposition, real estate, partner, common law, consent, death, dower, lease, loss, mobile home, mortgage, owner, spouse, tenant |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | Dower_consultation_summary.pdf |
September 9, 2022
Improving Alberta’s Dower Act
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Marriage & Divorce Property Real Property |
| TAGS | senior, estate planning, life estate, home, disposition, ownership, real estate, dower, estate, mortgage, Property, spouse, title, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | Dower_Summary.pdf |
February 15, 2022
Dower Act: Life Estate, Report for Discussion 37
The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is owned by the other spouse. It applies to a “homestead” which is a parcel of land where the owner lives or has lived. The Dower Act became law in Alberta over one hundred years ago. The last substantial reforms were in 1948. The Alberta Law Reform Institute’s (ALRI) research and consultation shows that the Dower Act functions largely as intended, but it is outdated […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Property |
| TAGS | separate, vulnerable, life estate, adult interdependent parter, insolvent, planning, home, homestead, sell, disposition, ownership, transfer, real estate, common law, consent, dower, estate, Land, lease, mobile home, mortgage, spouse, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | RFD37.pdf |
November 24, 2021
Dower Act: Consent to Disposition, Report for Discussion 36
The Dower Act protects a spouse if the couple’s home is owned by the other spouse. It applies to a “homestead” which is a parcel of land where the owner lives or has lived. The Dower Act became law in Alberta over one hundred years ago. The last substantial reforms were in 1948. The Alberta Law Reform Institute’s (ALRI) research and consultation shows that the Dower Act functions largely as intended, but it is outdated […]
| AREA OF LAW | Wills and Succession Family Law Property |
| TAGS | separate, vulnerable, life estate, adult interdependent parter, insolvent, planning, home, homestead, sell, disposition, ownership, transfer, real estate, common law, consent, dower, estate, Land, lease, mobile home, mortgage, spouse, will |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | RFD36.pdf |
November 23, 2021
Small Projects, Final Report 17
This report addresses small defects in the law and parts of this report that deal with Affidavits of Execution and illegible signature of notaries, the Builders’ Lien Act, and Seizures Act are really miniature working papers. Recommendations are made regarding the Bulk Sales Act, Alberta Evidence Act, Dower Act, Liquor Control Act and Workers’ Compensation Act. Matters still under consideration are Affidavits of Execution: illegible signature of notaries, commissioners, etc.; Arbitration Act; sections of the […]
| TAGS | builders lie, bulk sales, control, dower, evidence, liquor, workers compensation |
| FORMAT | Publications |
| FILE | fr017.pdf |
| ENACTMENT |
This report addresses small defects in the law and parts of this report that deal with Affidavits of Execution and illegible signature of notaries, the Builders’ Lien Act, and Seizures Act are really miniature working papers. Recommendations are made regarding the Bulk Sales Act, Alberta Evidence Act, Dower Act, Liquor Control Act and Workers’ Compensation Act. Matters still under consideration are Affidavits of Execution: illegible signature of notaries, commissioners, etc.; Arbitration Act; sections of the Builders’ Lien Act; Proceedings Against the Crown Act; Real Estate Agents’ Licensing Act; Seizures Act; Statute of Frauds; and Survival of Actions (especially the claim for loss of expectation of life). Matters that have been included in existing major projects include common law spouses, the Judicature Act and the Divorce Act; Limitations of Actions; and sections of the Land Titles Act. Submissions on which no action is planned include Alberta government’s Telephones Act, Change of Name Act, Criminal Code (s. 306), Examination for Discovery, Gas Utilities Act, Health Insurance Premiums Act, Planning Act, Public Works Act, and the Surrogate Courts Act and Administration of Estates Act. Regarding the Bulk Sales Act, it is recommended that section 5 be amended so that the vendors statement shall contain a list of the trade creditors; that section 6 and the form of waiver be amended so that the waiver provision applies to unsecured trade creditors instead of to all creditors. The report also recommends that the Alberta Evidence Act section 19(1) be amended so that it permits a person to affirm when he objects as a result of conscientious scruples, religious belief, or because the oath does not bind his conscious. For the Dower Act it is recommended that the affidavits, that require the owner to swear that neither he nor his spouse has resided on the lands, be amended to conform to section 2, which provides that dower attaches only to the property on which a married owner resides. Section 110 of the Liquor Control Act should be amended to refer to the renumbered section of the Criminal Code. |
June 1, 1975