Since 2003, adult interdependent relationships have been available to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples in the Canadian province of Alberta, imposing some but not all of the obligations of marriage and providing some but not all the rights and benefits thereof.
According to the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development, "adult interdependent partner is the new name in Alberta for a common-law spouse. However, the term encompasses more than heterosexual common-law relationships. It includes same-sex relationships, as well as two non-conjugal persons who live together in a relationship of interdependence. In some circumstances it could even include two members of the same family, or two friends who live together."[1]
According to the Alberta Ministry of Justice, "The act covers a range of personal relationships that fall outside of marriage, including committed platonic relationships where two people agree to share emotional and economic responsibilities."[2] Under the terms of the law, couples in a mutually dependent relationship, conjugal or not, are deemed to be adult interdependent partners after three years of living together, even without signing a partnership agreement.
- ^ Renaud, Philip J. (June 2004). "Adult Interdependent Partners and Farm Estate Planning" (PDF). Ag Succession Factsheet. Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-02-16. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
- ^ "Alberta's Adult Interdependent Relationships Act and you". Alberta Ministry of Justice. April 2003. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-29.