Civil Code of Québec, 1991

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An interested person may ask the court to declare a civil union null if it was not contracted as required by this Title.

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521.11. The nullity of a civil union entails the same effects as the nullity of a marriage. 2002, c. 6, s. 27.

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521.12. A civil union is dissolved by the death of either spouse. It is also dissolved by a court judgment or by a joint notarial declaration where the spouses’ will to share a community of life is irretrievably undermined. A civil union

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Spouses may consent to dissolve the civil union by joint declaration if they first settle all consequences in an agreement, and a notary must execute and record the declaration and agreement.

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The transaction contract must specify the date used to determine the net value of the family patrimony.

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521.15. The joint declaration dissolving a civil union states the names and domicile of the spouses, their places and dates of birth and the place and date of solemnization of the union; it also indicates the places and dates of execution

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A notarial declaration dissolving a civil union must be sent to specified custodians and Retraite Québec, and a notice must be entered in the register on the officiating notary’s application.

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If there is no joint notarial declaration, or if the children’s interests are at stake, the court must pronounce the dissolution of the civil union.

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Dissolving a civil union does not take away the children’s legal or contractual advantages, and parents’ rights and duties toward their children stay the same.

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A civil union’s dissolution also dissolves the civil union regime, and the legal effects are retroactive to specified dates depending on how the dissolution occurs.

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A parental union is created when de facto spouses become the parents of the same child, and it is also created again in the reverse situation. A new parental union cannot arise until any marriage, civil union, or existing parental union has ended, and close relatives cannot form one.

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Upon formation of the parental union, the spouses are subject to the rules of this Title and may not derogate from them, except as otherwise provided by law.

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A parental union ends if either spouse dies, the spouses stop living together in community of life, or either spouse marries or enters a civil union with someone else.

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Parental union spouses must choose the family residence together; if they do not make an express choice, the residence is presumed to be where the family members live while carrying on their principal activities.

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Family-residence rules for married spouses also apply to parental union spouses, with necessary modifications.

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A spouse may be authorized by the court to act alone for a family-residence matter that would otherwise need the other spouse’s consent, if that consent cannot be obtained or the refusal is not justified by the family’s interest.

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If spouses have ceased living together, a spouse who wants to apply alone to cancel the registration of a declaration of family residence must give the other spouse prior notice at least 120 days before applying.

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Applications about household movable property or the family residence must be filed with the court within 120 days after the end of the union.

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The court may order a spouse to leave the family residence during proceedings about the consequences of the end of the union, and may let a spouse temporarily keep certain movable property used for common use.

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521.29. Parental union entails the establishment of a parental union patrimony consisting of certain property of the spouses regardless of which of them holds a right of ownership in that property. 2024, c. 22, s. 3.

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The parental union patrimony includes certain family residences, household furnishings, and vehicles, but excludes property received by succession or gift, and property of a minor spouse until full age.

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The spouses may change the composition of the parental union patrimony during the union, but any change meant to exclude property covered by article 521.30 must be in a notarial act en minute or it is absolutely null.

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A person of full age under tutorship or a protection mandate may not enter an agreement about the parental union patrimony without assistance from the tutor or mandatary.

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Spouses may withdraw from this chapter during the union by a notarial act en minute and by mutual agreement.

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When a parental union ends, or in certain absentee-spouse liquidation cases, the parental union patrimony is divided equally after deducting specified debts.

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521.35. The net value of the parental union patrimony is determined according to the market value, on the date on which the right to partition arises, of the property composing it and of the debts contracted for the acquisition,

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521.36. Once the net value of the parental union patrimony has been determined, a deduction is made from it of the net value, at the time it was included in the patrimony, of the property that was then owned by one of the spouses and that

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Partition of the parental union patrimony is done by payment in money or by giving in payment.

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The court may, when partitioning property, award certain property to one spouse and may order the debtor spouse to pay by instalments for up to 10 years if needed to avoid injury.

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521.39. Where property that formed part of the parental union patrimony was alienated or misappropriated in the year preceding the time at which the right to partition arose and where that property was not replaced, the court may order

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The court may, on application, make an exception to equal partition if that would cause injustice.

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A spouse may renounce partition of the parental union patrimony from the end of the union, but only by a notarial act en minute or a recorded judicial declaration, and the renunciation must be entered in the prescribed register.

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A spouse’s renunciation by notarial act may be annulled for lesion or any other cause that makes contracts void.

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A spouse may apply to court for a compensatory allowance after the parental union ends, and the same rule applies on death.

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Proof of a spouse’s impoverishment and the other spouse’s enrichment contribution may be made by any means.

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The court may award a provision to a spouse applying for a compensatory allowance to cover proceeding costs.

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521.46. Where a compensatory allowance is to be paid, the court, failing agreement between the parties, establishes its value based on the lesser of the value of the spouse’s impoverishment attributable to the latter’s contribution or the

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Either spouse may agree during the union to make partial payment of the compensatory allowance.

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Children whose filiation is established have the same rights and obligations, no matter their circumstances of birth.

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522.1. The filiation of a child is proved by his act of birth, regardless of the manner in which filiation is established. 2023, c. 13, s. 8.

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All children have a right to have their filiation established under the conditions set out in this chapter.

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523. The filiation of a child is established with regard to the mother or parent by the fact of their having given birth to him and, with regard to the father or other parent, by the acknowledgement of a bond of filiation in the

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Uninterrupted possession of status is based on facts showing filiation between a child and the person acting as the child’s parent, and the conduct must start at birth and continue for at least 24 months unless exceptional circumstances apply.

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This section presumes the other parent is the mother’s spouse or the birth parent’s spouse for a child born during the relationship or within 300 days after it ends, subject to specified rebuttals.

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Section 526 is repealed.

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Section 527 is repealed.

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Section 528 is repealed.

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Section 529 is repealed.

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Section 530 is repealed.

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Section 531 is repealed.

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Section 532 is repealed.

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Section 533 is repealed.

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Section 534 is repealed.

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Section 535 is repealed.

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This section is repealed.

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535.2. (Repealed). 2022, c. 22, s. 82; 2023, c. 13, s. 13.

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Section 536 is repealed.

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Section 537 is repealed.

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A parental project using a third person’s reproductive material is formed when the relevant person or spouses decide to use that material to have a child. The material may be provided through assisted procreation in a centre, or through artisanal insemination or sexual intercourse. The project must not result in the children being dissociated.

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538.1. The filiation of a child born of a parental project involving the use of the reproductive material of a third person is established with regard to the mother or the parent by the fact of their having given birth to the

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A child born from a parental project using a third person’s reproductive material may not claim filiation with that person, and that third person may not claim filiation with the child.

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This section presumes a child’s other parent is the mother’s spouse or the spouse of the parent who gave birth, in specified circumstances.

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If a necessary condition for a parental project is not met, the child’s filiation is established under the rules for filiation by acknowledgement or by blood. No filiation bond may be established with the person who provided reproductive material as a third person, or with the person who intended the project but did not give birth.

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If both parents are women, the legal rights and obligations that would otherwise go to the father are assigned to the mother who did not give birth.

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Section 540 is repealed.

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Section 541 is repealed.

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541.1. A parental project involving surrogacy is formed from the moment a person alone or spouses domiciled in Québec have decided, in order to have a child, to resort to a woman or a person who is not party to the parental project to give

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Before a planned pregnancy, the intended parent(s) must enter into a surrogacy agreement, and the birth mother or birth-giver must be at least 21.

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The contribution to the parental project must be gratuitous, but the woman or person involved may be entitled to reimbursement or payment of certain expenses and, where applicable, compensation for lost work income.

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After birth, the woman or birth mother must consent to the child’s filiation being established only with the intended parent(s).

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Clauses that stop the woman or the person who agreed to give birth to the child from freely and knowingly giving post-birth consent about the child’s filiation are without effect.

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In a surrogacy parental project, the child may not claim filiation with the woman or person who gave birth, and that woman or person may not claim filiation with the child once the specified consent has been given or is deemed given.

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Certain people involved in a surrogacy parental project must have been domiciled in Québec for at least one year before the surrogacy agreement, for the filiation rules to apply.

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Only the woman or the person who agreed to give birth in a surrogacy parental project may unilaterally end the surrogacy agreement before the child’s birth, and they must do so in writing with a copy sent to the intended parent(s).

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The woman or birth mother must expressly consent if the child’s filiation is to be treated as never existing and a new filiation is to be established with the intended parent(s).

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Certain surrogacy-related reimbursements and loss-of-income compensation are exempt from seizure, except that loss-of-income compensation can be seized for support debts.

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Before a pregnancy begins, the woman or intended birth parent, and the person or spouses forming the parental project, must attend a confidential information meeting with a qualified professional.

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After the information meeting, parties who wish to proceed with a surrogacy project must make a surrogacy agreement by notarial act en minute. The agreement is in French, unless the parties expressly want to be bound only by another language version after reviewing the French version. The notary must get each party’s attestation from the information meeting and note that in the agreement.

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The surrogacy agreement sets what expenses may be paid or reimbursed, whether compensation for loss of work income is available, and how a trust deposit is to be made; regulations may add other content rules or waive the deposit in some cases.

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After birth, the child is entrusted to the person alone or the spouses who formed the parental project, unless the birth mother or the person who gave birth objects; if they are deceased or unable to act, the child is entrusted to the director of youth protection.

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The woman or the person who gave birth to the child must give consent within 30 days after the birth, but not before 7 days have passed.

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If the legal conditions are met, a child’s filiation is deemed established for the person alone or both spouses who formed the parental project from the child’s birth; the child’s birth must be declared to the registrar of civil status under this Code.

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541.17. If the woman or the person who gave birth to the child disappears with the child before expressing their will concerning the establishment of the child’s filiation or refuses to have their bond of filiation with regard to the child

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If the mother or birth parent dies before expressing consent about filiation, consent is deemed given; the same applies if they become incapable of consenting, with certified incapacity and after 30 days from birth.

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If the person alone or the spouses who formed the parental project die, become unable to act, or disappear, the child’s filiation is deemed established only in relation to them, subject to the consent of the woman or person who gave birth. The child’s birth must be declared to the registrar of civil status under this Code.

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541.20. Where a prior condition for the legal establishment of the child’s filiation is not met, the filiation of the child is established in accordance with the rules of filiation by acknowledgement or by blood. However, the presumption

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If a court is dealing with an application to change a child’s filiation, it must check the surrogacy-related conditions, including consent requirements. If the project is compliant, the court confirms the parental project and changes the child’s filiation; otherwise it declares the project null and dismisses the application.

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541.22. Where the child’s filiation is changed with regard to the person alone or the spouses who formed the parental project, the change is made despite their death, their inability to act or their disappearance. 2023, c. 13, s. 20.

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If the woman or birth parent dies, or becomes incapable of consenting, before expressing their will on the child’s filiation, consent is deemed given, but only after 30 days from the child’s birth.

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If the woman or birth parent disappears with the child before stating their intention about filiation, consent is presumed after 30 days from the child’s birth.

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If the court is seized of an application about filiation in a surrogacy parental project, it may rule on the fees payable to the advocate or notary representing the woman or birth parent.

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A surrogacy parental project with the woman or birth-giver domiciled outside Québec must follow the general surrogacy conditions and the conditions in this subdivision.

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A parental project must be submitted for prior authorization to the Minister of Health and Social Services before the process starts.

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The person alone or the spouses in a parental project must have lived in Québec for at least one year before applying for prior authorization.

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The person alone or the spouses who formed the parental project must meet with a qualified professional, who must issue a signed attestation after the meeting.

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Consent by the woman or birth parent must be express and in writing or by judicial declaration in filiation proceedings.

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A parental project may proceed only if the woman or person agreeing to give birth is domiciled in a foreign State designated by the Government.

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541.32. Once the prior authorization has been obtained, the surrogacy agreement, accompanied by the information concerning the profile of the woman or the person who has agreed to give birth to the child and the documents determined by

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The Minister must be notified of every birth resulting from an authorized project, may request needed information or documents, and must issue a compliance certificate if the project is found compliant.

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The court in Québec must recognize certain foreign birth records or foreign decisions establishing a child’s filiation. If the filiation is established for only one spouse, the application to claim status for the other spouse must be attached to the recognition application.

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The person alone or the spouses who formed a parental project must take the steps needed to recognize a foreign act of birth or an overseas filiation decision as soon as possible after receiving the compliance certificate or a refusal notice. If that is not done within a reasonable time, the director of youth protection may step in at the Minister’s request.

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When asked to recognize a foreign birth act or foreign decision about filiation in a surrogacy context, the court must check compliance with the relevant rules, the birth parent’s post-birth consent (or deemed consent in specified cases), and the Minister’s certificate of compliance.

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541.37. The recognition of an act of birth drawn up by a foreign competent authority or of a decision rendered abroad produces, from the date on which the child’s filiation took effect in the foreign State with regard to the person alone

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Personal information and documents about a child’s procreation involving a third person are confidential, unless law provides otherwise.

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Certain persons born of procreation involving a third person may obtain specified information and documents, subject to government-regulated terms and any contact veto.

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The child’s parent must inform the child that the child was born from procreation involving a third person, and must also inform the child about rules on disclosure of the third person’s name and profile, possible contact information, and documents the child is entitled to.

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A person 14 or older born of assisted procreation with a third person’s contribution may request information from the authority designated by law and, if the register contains it, is entitled to be told whether they were born of such procreation.

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Certain descendants aged 14 or older may obtain specified information and documents from the authority designated by law if the person born of the relevant procreation has died.

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A designated authority must tell a third person who helped procreate a child about a first information request, and the person must then have a chance to state whether contact is allowed.

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If the person sought is deceased, only the person’s name, profile information, and, if applicable, documents referred to in article 542.1(2) are communicated.

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If a contact veto is registered, or contact is authorized on conditions, the name of the person sought may be disclosed only if those conditions are complied with.

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542.8. Where the request concerns the woman or the person who gave birth to the child in the context of a parental project involving surrogacy while domiciled outside Québec, communication of the information making contact with the woman

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Psychosocial support services are offered to certain persons who are taking steps to receive communication of information and documents, if they express the need to the authority designated by law.

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The Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity must keep a register of certain information and documents related to a person born through third-person procreation and the third person’s wishes about contact.

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The Minister may disclose certain information and documents to eligible applicants and may make a summary investigation if records appear incomplete.

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542.12. The Minister of Health and Social Services is the designated authority for disclosing to any person born of a parental project involving surrogacy in which the woman or the person who gave birth to the child is domiciled outside

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The Ministers may require public bodies to communicate information or documents needed to locate the third person who contributed to the procreation, and may also access the related judicial file if applicable.

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If a Québec surrogacy project meets the listed conditions, the registrar of civil status must deposit the authentic surrogacy agreement copy in the register, and after the child’s act of birth is drawn up, must enter the child’s name, date of birth, and other regulated information.

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In certain parental projects, the relevant third-person reproductive information must be collected and then transmitted to the registrar of civil status, who must enter it in the register.

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After the relevant judgment becomes final, the Minister of Health and Social Services must file the judgment and surrogacy agreement in the register and enter the birth-giver’s name, contact information, and certain profile information.

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If a surrogacy child has no filiation bond with the reproductive-material provider, the birth mother or birthing person must send that person’s name and contact/profile information to the registrar of civil status when the declaration of birth is made.

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A physician may obtain necessary medical information for health reasons, but only with the person’s consent or court authorization if consent is absent. The designated authority must disclose identifying/contact information to a physician when the conditions in the section are met, and confidentiality must be preserved.

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No one may claim filiation contrary to the act of birth and the uninterrupted possession of status that matches it.

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A child’s filiation cannot be contested only because the child was born from a parental project involving a third person’s contribution.

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An interested person, including a parent, may contest filiation by any means when the person’s uninterrupted possession of status does not match the act of birth.

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A child may contest filiation if the child was born because of sexual assault by the father or the other parent, and may seek restoration of a withdrawn filiation bond unless adopted.

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A child may ask the court to establish filiation if the act of birth does not match uninterrupted possession of status. Parents may also ask the court to establish a bond of filiation in the opposite mismatch case.

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A child born as a result of sexual assault may object to a bond of filiation with the person who committed the assault.

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542.25. Actions are directed against the child and, if applicable, against the person who is the subject of the claim or contestation. 2023, c. 13, s. 21.

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Proof of filiation may be made by any mode of proof, but testimony is only admissible if there is a commencement of proof or sufficiently strong presumptions or indications from already clearly established facts.

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542.27. Commencement of proof results from the family documents, domestic records and papers, and all other public or private writings originating from a party engaged in the contestation or who would have an interest therein if the party

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Any mode of proof may be used to contest an action concerning filiation.

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542.29. For the purposes of articles 542.22 and 542.24, sexual assault may be proved, among other means, by the production of a judgment recognizing its existence. 2023, c. 13, s. 21.

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In a filiation case, the court may order genetic analysis of a bodily substance sample on application by an interested person, but cannot do so for filiation unless there is sufficient commencement of proof or strong existing indications. The court must set conditions for sampling and analysis that respect bodily integrity as much as possible, and may draw a negative presumption from an unjustified refusal to comply.

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The court may establish a child’s filiation in relation to a deceased person if the stated conditions are shown.

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Actions concerning filiation are not subject to prescription, but if the child or the child’s father or mother or parent is deceased, the heirs must act within three years of the death.

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If a person commits a sexual assault and there is no bond of filiation with the child born from the assault, the person must pay the victim a lump-sum financial contribution for the child’s support.

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If a child’s health changes significantly because of unknown or unforeseeable circumstances, and that change substantially affects the child’s needs or autonomy, the person who committed the sexual assault must pay a contribution for the child’s additional needs until autonomy is attained.

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If the victim of a sexual assault does not exercise the rights in this division, a child of full age may apply for direct payment of the contribution part meant to meet the child’s needs from majority.

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If sexual assault is proved for article 542.33 purposes, the court may order analysis of a bodily substance sample to identify the offender’s genetic profile.

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An action to claim a contribution for the needs of a child born from a sexual assault is not subject to prescription when brought by the victim.

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Adoption is only allowed if it is in the child’s interest and meets legal conditions; it cannot be used to confirm an existing filiation by birth.

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Some Québec Aboriginal custom adoption conditions may replace legal conditions if the custom respects the child’s interests, the child’s rights, and the consent of the persons concerned.

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A minor child may be adopted only if the required consent has been given or the child has been judicially declared eligible for adoption.

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544.1. Consents to adoption are given for an adoption with recognition of the pre-existing bond or bonds of filiation, an adoption without such recognition or, indiscriminately, for either. 2017, c. 12, s. 14.

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An adult may be adopted only by the persons who acted as a parent toward them when they were a minor, unless the court dispenses with that requirement.

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Any person of full age may adopt a child, alone or jointly with another person.

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A person cannot be an adopter unless they are at least 18 years older than the person adopted, unless the adopted person is the adopter’s spouse’s child.

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A person wishing to adopt a minor child must undergo a psychosocial assessment, unless the adoption is based on special consent and the court decides otherwise.

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Consent under this chapter must be given in writing and before two witnesses, and the same form applies to withdrawing consent.

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A child aged 10 or older may not be adopted without consent, unless unable to express will.

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A child aged 14 or over can refuse adoption, and that refusal prevents the adoption.

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If adoption is with the parents’ consent, both parents must consent when the child’s filiation is established with both of them; if filiation is established with only one parent, that parent’s consent is enough.

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If one parent is deceased, unable to express a will, or deprived of parental authority, the other parent’s consent is enough and must be given separately for each bond of filiation.

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If the child has a tutor, the tutor’s consent is required for adoption when both parents are deceased, unable to express their will, or deprived of parental authority.

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A parent who is a minor may consent to the adoption of their child without authorization.

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Consent to adoption may be general or special, and special consent is limited to certain family members and spouses; de facto spouses must have cohabited for at least three years.

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556. Until the order of placement, consent to adoption entails, by operation of law, delegation of parental authority to the person to whom the child is entrusted. 1991, c. 64, a. 556; I.N. 2014-05-01; 2016, c. 4, s. 81.

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A person who consented to adoption may withdraw that consent within 30 days; if withdrawn, the child must be returned to that person without formality or delay.

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If a person has not withdrawn consent within 30 days, the person may apply to the court, before the order of placement, to have the child returned.

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