When does a parental union end?
Short answer
In Quebec, a parental union ends for three reasons only: the spouses' separation, the death of one of them, or the spouses marrying each other or one of them marrying someone else. It does not end when the children reach the age of majority, die or leave the family residence.
In detail
The official FAQ of the ministère de la Justice (Quebec's justice department) lists precisely those three causes, and just as precisely rules out the events that do not put an end to it.
Several situations surprise people. A child becoming an adult and self-sufficient does not end the parental union: if the parents separate years later, once the children have left home, the parental union patrimony is still divided. The child's death does not end it either, nor does having placed the child for adoption, nor the child's placement with a foster family following an intervention by the Directeur de la protection de la jeunesse (DPJ, youth protection).
Finally, living together is not required: if one of the spouses goes to live abroad but the couple remains a couple, the parental union continues. If the spouses marry each other, the parental union patrimony has to be divided, and then the family patrimony that applies to marriage starts to build up.
What to document
The date of the separation, and what establishes it concretely: the end of cohabitation, a new lease, a change of address, messages acknowledging the separation. That date is decisive — it fixes the moment at which the patrimony to be divided is valued, and it starts the 120 days of protection for the family residence.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Gouvernement du Québec — The parental union: frequently asked questions (official PDF)
- Gouvernement du Québec — Partition of the parental union patrimony
Related questions
- How is the payment made when the parental union patrimony is divided?
- Does a step-parent have any rights over their spouse's child?
- How long does the judge take to render a decision?
- What is a parental union in Quebec?
- Our child was born before June 30, 2025 — are we in a parental union?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.