Adam Frankel
General Counsel · Technology & AI
15+ years as General Counsel to technology, cloud & AI companies
Marriage Contract (Ontario) by OLL
Open Legal LibraryUpdated 17 Aug 2026
This template is for couples in Ontario who are married or planning to marry and wish to determine property division and spousal support in advance. It includes options for opting out of net family property equalization or varying specific statutory rules under the Family Law Act.
This document comes from OLL's library of vetted legal templates
MARRIAGE CONTRACT
This template is for two people in Ontario who are married to each other, or intend to marry, and want to agree in advance how property and support will be handled if the marriage ends — commonly called a marriage contract before the wedding and sometimes a "postnuptial" arrangement if signed afterward, though Ontario law uses "marriage contract" for both. It is not for an unmarried couple with no immediate plan to marry (use cohabitation-agreement) and not for people who have already separated (use separation-agreement). Not suitable for use in Quebec.
Drafting notes appear in italics and are to be deleted before execution. Square brackets mark information to be filled in. Delete any inapplicable optional clauses and Parts, then renumber, before execution.
⚠️ This Agreement can be set aside. A court can set aside all or part of a domestic contract — including a marriage contract — where a party failed to disclose to the other significant assets, debts, or other liabilities existing when the Agreement was made, where a party did not understand the nature or consequences of the Agreement, or otherwise in accordance with the ordinary law of contract. Ontario's Family Law Act sets out the grounds for setting aside a domestic contract. VERIFY the exact section number and current statutory wording before this warning, or any statement of the grounds, is treated as settled — the citation registry flags this section as unconfirmed. Complete and exchange the financial disclosure at Schedule A honestly and completely, and do not rely on this Agreement being effective until each Party has had a genuine opportunity to obtain independent legal advice.
⚠️ A provision limiting matrimonial-home rights is unenforceable. Ontario's Family Law Act does not permit spouses to contract out of the equal right of possession of the matrimonial home. A term in this Agreement purporting to give one spouse the exclusive right to possess the matrimonial home, or otherwise limit the other spouse's statutory possessory rights in it, while the Parties remain married and the property remains a matrimonial home, is not enforceable, regardless of disclosure or independent legal advice. VERIFY the exact current statutory provision and its current scope — including whether it extends to every kind of matrimonial-home term or only certain ones — before relying on this warning as a complete statement of the rule; the citation registry flags this as unconfirmed. Section 4 is drafted with this limitation in mind; do not attempt to work around it by rewording a possession-limiting clause.
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About this template
What is this template?
This is a domestic contract for use in Ontario that defines financial rights during and after marriage. It is not a cohabitation agreement for unmarried partners and expressly excludes parenting arrangements which cannot be pre-determined. It contains mandatory schedules for financial disclosure and certificates of independent legal advice.
When should you use it?
Use this document if you are getting married in Ontario and want to vary the default property equalization rules found in the Family Law Act. Use a separation-agreement instead if the marriage has already ended and you are settling affairs after the fact.
What's inside
| Clause | Name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Definitions | Defines Separate Property as assets owned before the Effective Date or acquired individually during the marriage as listed in Schedule A. |
| 2 | Financial Disclosure | Requires each Spouse to provide a sworn statement of assets, debts, and income as of a specific Disclosure Date. |
| 3 | Property Division on Separation | Provides options to either opt out of equalization entirely or accept the net-family-property regime with specific variations. |
| 4 | Matrimonial Home | Preserves each Party's equal right of possession under the Family Law Act while allowing for agreements on ultimate ownership. |
| 5 | Spousal Support | Offers a choice between a mutual advance waiver of support or a determined formula capped by amount or duration. |
| 7 | Child Support and Parenting Arrangements | States that the Agreement does not address parenting time or child support because such provisions are legally unenforceable. |
| 8 | Review of This Agreement | Obliges the Parties to review the contract upon the birth or adoption of a child or a significant change in income. |
| 10 | Independent Legal Advice | Confirms that each Spouse obtained advice from a separate lawyer before execution, as recorded in Schedule B. |
Who it's for
- couples in Ontario intending to marry who wish to exclude pre-marriage assets from equalization
- married spouses in Ontario seeking to define spousal support caps before a separation occurs
- individuals in Ontario wanting to protect specific business interests from net family property claims
How long it runs and how it's signed
How long
Runs until someone ends it
Signed by
Party A, Witness for Party A, Party B, Witness for Party B
Witness
Required
Notarisation
Not required
Also needed
sworn financial statement; independent legal advice certificates
Law it's drafted under
Governed by
Family Law Act
Refers to
Miglin v. Miglin, 2003 SCC 24
Refers to
Federal Child Support Guidelines
Categories
Jurisdiction
Ontario (Canada)
Document info
GitLaw document. Document created on Mon Aug 17th, 2026. Last updated on Mon Aug 17th, 2026.
This document is public
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (Attribution).
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