Separating In Alberta? What To Know Before You Decide About The House.
Hello, Gorgeous! The house is usually the biggest thing you own together, and the first thing people want settled. The calls that decide how it goes are to a lawyer, a mortgage broker and an accountant, and they come before the listing. Here is the order, the Alberta rules, and three free checklists to work through at your own pace.
Please note: Tara Molina is a REALTOR®, not a lawyer. Nothing on this page or in the checklists is legal advice. Each of you should speak with your own family lawyer before you make decisions or sign anything.
This guide is from Tara Molina Real Estate Group, a Calgary and Airdrie real estate team led by Tara Molina, REALTOR® CCS®, brokered by Royal LePage Benchmark. It explains what Alberta law and the Canada Revenue Agency say about the family home when a couple separates, and it is written by a REALTOR® who has been through a separation herself.
Not All Of This Is For You. That Is On Purpose.
We Put In Everything We Could Think Of, And More.
Every separation is different. Some of what follows applies only to married couples, some only to adult interdependent partners (Alberta's term for common law couples), some only if you have children, a business, a pension or more than one property. Take what fits your family and skip the rest. Nothing here is a list you have to finish.
Tara Is Not A Lawyer. This Is Not Legal Advice.
Tara is a REALTOR®. She is not a lawyer, and she is not an accountant or mortgage broker either. This page explains the rules in plain language and points you to where they come from, so your conversations with those professionals start in the right place. Each of you should have your own family lawyer before you sign anything.
The Usual Order, Step By Step.
This is the order that tends to work for a couple who are trying to do this together. Yours may run differently, and that is fine.
Agree on the separation date
Write it down. It matters for the divorce and for tax, and courts can treat you as separated while you are still under the same roof.
Each of you talks to your own lawyer
Early, before either of you commits to anything financial. Ask about mediation or a collaborative process.
Make a temporary plan
Where everyone lives for now, how parenting time works, and how the bills are paid in the meantime.
Gather full financial disclosure
Income, tax returns, accounts, pensions, the mortgage, debts and property records. The Document Checklist covers it.
Find out what things are worth
A current home value, a mortgage payout statement, and a valuation of any business or pension.
Build two budgets
The real cost of two households: housing, transportation, children, insurance and debt payments.
Work through the questions
Separately first, then together. Mark what is agreed, what needs discussion, and what needs advice.
Negotiate what is left
With a mediator if that helps. Get mortgage and tax advice before agreeing to any big transfer.
Have the agreement drafted and reviewed
In Alberta, an agreement that divides property needs independent legal advice for each of you, from different lawyers, with a certificate.
Carry it out
Sales, buyouts, refinancing, support payments and account changes, by the dates in the agreement.
Update the paperwork
CRA, insurance, beneficiaries, wills, powers of attorney, school contacts and banking.
Apply for the divorce when eligible
If you are married, the usual route requires living separate and apart for at least one year before the divorce is granted.
Sources: CPLEA, Make a Separation Agreement (family.cplea.ca); Divorce Act (Canada). Verified 5 November 2026.
Selling Is One Option, Not The Default.
Most separating couples land on one of three. None of them is right for everyone. The right one is the one both of you, and both of your lawyers, can live with.
Sell It And Divide What Is Left
Clean and final. The mortgage, commission, legal fees and any penalty for breaking the mortgage come off the top, and the rest is divided the way your agreement or a court says.
One Of You Keeps It
The person staying buys out the other. It usually means a new mortgage in one name that has to qualify on one income, which is the question that decides most of these.
Keep It Together, Then Sell
Some couples hold the home until a child finishes school. It can work, but it keeps two people on one mortgage, so write down in detail who pays what in the meantime.
Who Has To Sign.
If you are both on title, you both sign the listing, any accepted offer, and every decision in between.
If you are married and only one of you is on title, Alberta's Dower Act applies to the home you have lived in together. The owning spouse cannot sell or mortgage it without the other spouse's written consent, given with a separate acknowledgement that they understand their rights. A court can dispense with consent, through a lawyer. Dower does not show up on the title and does not end when one of you moves out, so mention it on the first call.
If you were never married, the Dower Act does not apply, but Alberta's Family Property Act, in force since 2020, covers adult interdependent partners as well as married spouses when property is divided. Being off title does not mean having no claim to the value.
Sources: Alberta Law Reform Institute, Dower Act reports; Alberta Real Estate Association practice guidance, January 2025.
Living There Is Not Owning It.
If you cannot agree on who stays in the home while things are worked out, either of you can apply to the court for an Exclusive Possession Order. The Government of Alberta describes it as the order used when married couples or adult interdependent partners cannot decide who stays in the home, and it lasts until they, or the court, decide who stays and how the assets are divided.
It decides who lives there for now. It does not decide who owns the home. For a sale, whoever is living there controls whether the house is ready for showings, so agree on that in writing before the sign goes up.
Keeping It Comes Down To One Income.
If one of you wants to stay, the real question is whether one income can qualify for a mortgage large enough to cover what is owing now plus the other person's share.
Canada's mortgage insurers offer spousal buyout programs for exactly this, and they can allow more borrowing than an ordinary refinance. Terms vary by lender and insurer, and they generally want a signed separation agreement first. A mortgage broker can tell you what you qualify for in one conversation, and that answer often settles the sell or keep question on its own.
We work with Advanced Mortgage for exactly this conversation. In the interest of full disclosure, Advanced Mortgage is owned by Tara's husband, Trevor Yerema. You are welcome to use any mortgage broker or lender you like.
Until the mortgage is paid out or refinanced into one name, both people on it still owe it. Moving out does not change that.
The Tax Question Most People Miss.
The principal residence exemption is what usually means no tax on the gain when you sell your home, and a family unit can designate only one home a year.
The Canada Revenue Agency's Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2, at paragraph 2.13, says a spouse stops counting as part of your family unit for a year only if both are true: you lived apart throughout the year, and you were separated under a court order or a written separation agreement. Moving out is not enough on its own. It matters most when one of you buys a new place before the family home has sold, so ask your accountant first.
Source: Canada Revenue Agency, Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2, Principal Residence.
How To List Without It Becoming Another Fight.
When you are both on title, you are both the client. The Alberta Real Estate Association's guidance to REALTORS® on divorce sales is to consult both sellers equally, stay objective, take no sides, and finish the sale as efficiently as is reasonable. That is how Tara works: her approach is to stay neutral, take no sides, and keep you both equally informed.
How the money is divided is not your REALTOR®'s call. That comes from your agreement or a court. Before you list, ask your lawyers one question: where does the money sit between closing day and the day you sign a final agreement?
- Agree on the price strategy before you list.The hardest moments are about an offer one of you wants and the other does not. Decide in advance what you would accept and how quickly you will respond.
- Both of you get the same information at the same time.Every offer, every piece of feedback, every price conversation. Ask any agent how they will do that.
- Your reason for selling stays private.AREA's guidance is that the reason for a sale is not disclosed without the sellers' written consent, and buyers who know may offer less. Your listing talks about the home, not about you.
- Decide who pays what until closing.Mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities and snow removal. Somebody has to keep the house insured and heated through a Calgary winter while it is listed.
- Get a current home value early.Your lawyers, mortgage broker and accountant will all ask for it. It does not commit you to listing.
We Can Help You Both, And We Stay Neutral.
A separation usually means two next homes, not one. Tara can help sell the home you share, and she can help each of you buy your next place.
Her approach throughout is to remain neutral. She does not take sides, and each of you gets the same attention, the same information and the same care, whether you are the one staying in the neighbourhood or the one starting somewhere new.
Three Checklists To Work Through At Your Own Pace.
Print them, fill them in separately, then compare. They are built to take into your lawyer's or mediator's office, not to replace them. No email, no sign up.
The Document Checklist
Every piece of paperwork worth gathering, from the certificate of title and mortgage payout statement to pensions, RESPs and insurance beneficiaries.
Download The PDFThe Separation Planning Workbook
More than a hundred questions across parenting, support, the home, money, debts, insurance and taxes, each marked Agreed, Discuss or Advice, plus the twelve step roadmap.
Download The PDFThe House: Sell, Keep Or Wait
Who has to sign, what to know before you decide, and what to agree in writing before a listing or a buyout.
Download The PDFWhere To Go Next, Most Of It Free.
Program details from alberta.ca and family.cplea.ca, verified 5 November 2026. Eligibility rules change, so confirm on the program's own page before relying on them.
Common Questions About Separating And The House In Alberta.
Do we need a separation agreement before we separate?
No. CPLEA's guidance is that you can make an agreement while you are thinking about separating or after you already have. You can start living separately, even under the same roof, while you work toward one. A properly drafted agreement is still the step that protects both of you, and it is usually what a lender wants before a spousal buyout.
Can we be separated while still living in the same house?
Yes. Courts can treat a couple as living separate and apart while they share a home, as long as they are no longer living as a couple. Write down the date you separated and keep a record of how you are living, because it matters for the divorce and for tax.
Do we both have to agree to sell the house?
If you are both on title, you both sign, so in practice you both have to agree. If you are married and only one of you is on title, the Dower Act generally requires the other spouse's written consent. Where agreement is not possible, the route is a court application through your family lawyer.
Who gets to stay in the house during a separation in Alberta?
If you cannot agree, either of you can apply for an Exclusive Possession Order. It is available to married couples and to adult interdependent partners. It decides who lives in the home for now, not who owns it or how its value is divided.
Can one of us keep the house instead of selling?
Often, yes. The person keeping it buys out the other's share, usually with a new mortgage in one name that has to qualify on one income. Canada's mortgage insurers offer spousal buyout programs that can allow more borrowing than a standard refinance, and they generally want a signed separation agreement first.
Can you help both of us buy our next homes?
Yes. Tara can help sell the home you share and help each of you buy your next place. Her approach is to remain neutral: she does not take sides, and each of you gets the same attention and the same information.
Do separated spouses each get their own principal residence exemption?
Only once both of the conditions in CRA's Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C2, paragraph 2.13, are met: you lived apart throughout the year, and you were separated under a court order or a written separation agreement. Until then you share one designation. Ask your accountant before either of you buys another home.
Is family mediation free in Alberta?
For some families. The Government of Alberta's program is free for separating parents when one parent's gross income is $60,000 a year or less and there is at least one dependent child. Both parents register online, within two weeks of each other. Private mediators are available to everyone, at their own rates.
Are there deadlines for dividing property?
Yes, and they are not the same for married couples and adult interdependent partners. That is exactly why each of you should speak to a family lawyer early rather than assuming you can leave it for later.
When You Are Ready To Talk About The House.
Whether that is this week or next year, and whether it ends in a sale or not, a quiet conversation about what the home is worth and what your options are is a good place to start.
Tara Molina is a REALTOR®, not a lawyer. This page is general information for people in Alberta, not legal, tax or financial advice, and she is not an accountant or mortgage broker either. Get advice from your own family lawyer on your own situation. Sources named on this page were verified 5 November 2026. Tara Molina Real Estate Group is proudly brokered by Royal LePage Benchmark.