What a BC marriage agreement is for
In British Columbia, when a relationship ends, the Family Law Act treats almost everything acquired during it as family property to be divided equally. It also treats the growth in value of property one spouse brought in, such as a condo owned before the wedding or a business started years earlier, as family property, even though the property itself stays excluded. Values are set at the date of division, not separation. For many couples that is fair. For others, especially where one spouse owns a home or business, expects an inheritance, or has children from a previous relationship, it is not what they would choose.
A marriage agreement under section 92 lets the couple decide. This template defines separate property to include its growth, gifts, inheritances and traced property, lets the couple share everything else or keep property by title, deals with a business, the family residence (three options), pensions and debts, sets spousal support terms, and releases estate claims. Because section 93 lets courts set aside agreements that were unfairly made or are significantly unfair, it comes with disclosure schedules, legal advice certificates, a witnessing reminder, a division illustration and review dates.
When to sign one
Ideally well before the wedding, once each partner has exchanged full financial information and seen their own lawyer. It is particularly useful for a spouse who owns real estate or a business, expects an inheritance or trust interest, has significantly higher income or savings, or has children from a previous relationship. Already-married couples can sign one too.
If you have been living together for some time already, the Act may already treat you as spouses (after two years in a marriage-like relationship), so a marriage agreement should cover the whole relationship, not only the period after the wedding.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Background and legal effect
- Spouses
- Wedding date
- Children
- Effect from signing
- Replaces cohabitation agreement
- Default Family Law Act rules
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Separate property
- Listed property
- Gifts and inheritances
- Growth in value
- Traced property
- Injury awards
- Earnings option
- Release of section 95 and 96 claims
- Commingling
-
Family property, business and residence
- Shared or each keeps their own
- Business and its growth
- Income from the business
- Residence shared protected or separate
- Exclusive occupancy
-
Pensions, debts and support
- Pensions and registered plans
- CPP credits
- Debts
- Support under law
- Tied to length of marriage
- Lump sum
- Mutual release
- Section 164
-
Children and death
- Children's best interests
- Estate release including wills variation
- Provision on death
- Wills
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Disclosure, advice and general
- Financial disclosure
- Independent legal advice
- Timing before the wedding
- Review
- Amendment
- Witnessed signatures
-
Schedules A to E
- Disclosure of each spouse
- Legal advice certificates
- Division illustration
- After-signing checklist
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to complete the agreement
- Exchange disclosure. Complete Schedules A and B with values and documents.
- Define separate property. Decide whether growth is separate, and whether property bought with your own earnings stays separate.
- Choose how family property is divided.
- Deal with the business, if any, and how its income is treated.
- Choose the residence option.
- Decide pensions and debts.
- Choose the spousal support option.
- Decide estate terms and any provision for the survivor.
- See your own lawyers and complete Schedule D to see the effect. Then sign, with a witness for each signature, and update your wills.
Example: a condo and a family gift in Vancouver
Fictional couple Daniel Wong and Priya Shah marry on July 18, 2026. Daniel owns a Vancouver condo worth $780,000 with a $400,000 mortgage; Priya's parents plan to give her $200,000 toward a home.
Separate property: Daniel's condo equity of $380,000 and its growth; Priya's $200,000 gift and anything bought with it. Residence: they sell the condo and buy a townhouse jointly in 2027. Option: owner's equity protected, so on separation Daniel first receives $380,000 and Priya $200,000, and the rest of the equity is divided equally. Spousal support: none if they separate within five years of marriage.
If they separate in 2035 with $1,200,000 of equity in the townhouse, Daniel receives $380,000, Priya $200,000, and each half of the remaining $620,000, or $310,000. Without the agreement, the growth in both contributions during the relationship would have been shared.
British Columbia rules to know
- Agreements (Family Law Act section 92). Spouses may agree on the division of property and debt and on support.
- Formalities (section 93(1)). Written, signed by both spouses, each signature witnessed.
- Setting aside (section 93(3) to (5)). Non-disclosure, improper advantage, lack of understanding, or significant unfairness.
- Family and excluded property (sections 84 and 85). Growth in excluded property during the relationship is family property.
- Valuation (section 87). At the date of division.
- Spousal support (section 164). Agreements can be set aside if significantly unfair.
- Spouses (section 3). Unmarried partners become spouses after two years in a marriage-like relationship.
- Wills variation (WESA section 60). A surviving spouse may apply to vary an inadequate will.
Why BC marriage agreements are challenged
BC marriage agreements most often fail under section 93 for unfairness that grew over time. A twenty-year-old agreement keeps everything separate while one spouse stayed home with children, and a court finds it significantly unfair. Others fail on process: no financial disclosure, one lawyer for both spouses, or no witness to one spouse's signature. Some succeed but protect less than intended, because they exclude a home's value but not its growth. The growth clause, review dates, disclosure schedules, certificates and witnessing reminder in this agreement address each of these.
Frequently asked questions
Is a prenup called a marriage agreement in BC?
Yes. BC's Family Law Act calls agreements about property, debt and support "agreements", and couples marrying usually call theirs a marriage agreement. For the property terms to be binding, it must be in writing, signed by both spouses and each signature witnessed by at least one other person.
Does growth in property I owned before marriage get shared in BC?
Yes, by default. Property you brought into the relationship is excluded property and stays yours, but its increase in value during the relationship is family property and is divided equally. A marriage agreement can keep the growth separate too.
Can a BC court set aside a marriage agreement?
Yes, under section 93, if a spouse failed to disclose significant property or debts, took improper advantage of the other's vulnerability, the other did not understand the agreement, or the agreement is significantly unfair. Full disclosure, independent legal advice and fair terms are the best protection.
Can a BC marriage agreement waive spousal support?
It can include a release, but a court may set aside or replace a spousal support term under section 164 if it is significantly unfair, considering things like how long ago the agreement was made and how much the spouses relied on it. Support terms tied to the length of the marriage are more likely to hold.
Does a BC marriage agreement stop a wills variation claim?
It helps, but may not end it. A surviving spouse can apply under section 60 of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act to vary a will that does not adequately provide for them, and the court will consider the agreement. Each spouse should make a will consistent with the agreement.
