Family Maintenance and Support from the Estate of a Person that Stood in the Place of a Parent, Report for Discussion 34

November 3, 2020

Family Law Project – The Conclusion, Final Report 93

This report sets out the process by which ALRI has proposed rules for the revision of the Alberta Rules of Court. The Rules of Court Committee requested ALRI to review the Alberta Rules of Court. The ultimate goal of the project was to produce clear, more useable and more effective Rules. Other goals included increased fairness, timeliness, cost effectiveness and accessibility. Through extensive consultation, ALRI created a list of proposed Rules. They are arranged in […]

June 29, 2004

Family Law v. 18.4–Child Guardianship, Custody and Access, Report for Discussion 18.4

As addressed in the other reports in this series, Alberta law relating to the care of children (at the time of this report’s publication) included a variety of statutory provisions that were out-dated, inconsistent, and/or had uncertain scope. For this reason, this report begins from a “clean slate” in trying to define (i) child guardianship, (ii) custody, and (iii) access, and to determine how these issues can be decided in order to protect the best […]

October 2, 1998

Family Law v. 18.3–Child Support, Report for Discussion 18.3

This report was written to address five concerns about child support law at the time of its publication, viz.: the inadequacy of child support awarded; inconsistency of award between similar families; inefficiency in assessment; inequality based on “legitimacy” of birth; and unaddressed complexities based on the inter-relation between spousal support, custody of children, and child support. This report expounds recommendations for a new approach to child support, which is meant to foster equality for all […]

Family Law v. 18.2–Spousal Support, Report for Discussion 18.2

At the time of publication, Alberta’s law relating to spousal support after a divorce was unique in Canada, in that it incorporated the “fault doctrine.” This doctrine holds that in order to obtain support, a spouse must prove that he or she is the “innocent party” in the divorce (i.e., not responsible for the marriage breakdown), and that the other spouse is culpable (i.e., responsible for the marriage breakdown). This report suggests the elimination of […]

Revision of the Surrogate Rules, Final Report 73

This report aims to amend Alberta’s outdated Surrogate Rules, which govern the procedure for the administration of an estate. A complicated, detailed endeavour, it was completed in partnership with the Surrogate Rules Committee, and focused solely on the procedural statutory provisions involved. Substantive provisions are examined in another project now underway. Some recommendations are: That one court have carriage of all applications dealing with the administration of a given estate so that courtroom efficiency is […]

May 29, 1996

Revision of the Surrogate Rules, Report for Discussion 10

This report aims to amend Alberta’s outdated Surrogate Rules, which govern the procedure for the administration of an estate. A complicated, detailed endeavour, it was completed in partnership with the Surrogate Rules Committee, and focused solely on the procedural statutory provisions involved. Substantive provisions are examined in another project now underway. Some recommendations are: That one court have carriage of all applications dealing with the administration of a given estate so that courtroom efficiency is […]

October 2, 1991

Section 16 of the Matrimonial Property Act, Final Report 57

Section 16 of the Matrimonial Property Act, RSA 1980, c M-9, stated that the rights of a person who started a property action against a spouse did not survive that person’s death, and thus the action could not be continued by his or her estate. This was based on the legal policy that matrimonial property should be available for the use of a surviving spouse. This report notes that, in practice, this section led to […]

March 1, 1990

Competence and Human Reproduction, Final Report 52

This report recommends the draft legislation Competence and Human Reproduction Act to create a decision-making process regarding sterilization for those not legally competent to make the decision themselves. The Act replaces the blanket prohibition of Re Eve with legislation that allows for a judgment based on the best interest of the individual and an empathy for her situation. The Institute concluded that no person should be denied access to sterilization because she is not competent […]

February 1, 1989

Sterilization Decisions: Minors and Mentally Incompetent Adults, Report for Discussion 6

This consultative document sets out the evolution of the present law, its apparent parameters, the social and medical background to sterilization decisions and tentatively recommends a new statutory regime that would better reflect the present day and foreseeable needs of Canadian citizens. This report recommends that the decision regarding sterilization be made by a judge of the Court of Queen’s Bench. Before making the order for sterilization the judge would be required to satisfy himself […]

March 2, 1988