Family Law
Family Law Legislation
These laws make rules about family relationships in the Northwest Territories.
Family Law Act (Department of Justice)
The Family Law Act sets out the laws
about the rights and responsibilities of married and
common-law spouses when the relationship ends and the
individuals wish to divorce and/or separate, including
spousal support and the division of family property.
Children's Law Act (Department of Justice)
The Children’s Law Act deals with decisions regarding children, such
as custody, support, access and parentage. Custody involves
determining where a child will live and who will make
decisions about the care and upbringing of the child. Access
means the time that a parent who does not have the
day-to-day care of the child is able to spend with the child
or children.
Divorce Act (Federal) (Government of Canada)
The Divorce Act applies only to people who are legally married and sets out
the rules for ending a marriage. It does not apply to people
who live together without being married, also known as
common-law relationships. It is a federal law and applies
everywhere in Canada as to the ending of a legal
relationship, including the making of arrangements for
children, custody and access decisions and child and/or
spousal support.
Child and Family
Services Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Child and Family Services Act creates and enables the child protection process in the Northwest Territories. The Act protects the best interests of the child, while ensuring the constitutional rights of parents and guardians are respected. The Act provides a framework for community involvement in child protection concerns through the implementation of Plan of Care Agreements.
Maintenance
Orders Enforcement Act (Department of Justice)
The Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act sets up the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) authority.
This program helps those registered with it by monitoring,
enforcing and collecting court orders or agreements for
payment of support. The program is a free service and
available if you register through the MEP office. The
program does not obtain court orders for clients, change the
amount of the support ordered by a court or through
agreements, or vary a court order for support.
Adoption Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Adoption Act sets out the requirements to adopt children in the Northwest Territories. The Act promotes the best interest of the child by recognizing differing cultural values and practices when establishing their legal status within their permanent family through adoption and protects the rights of everyone involved: the child, the birth parents and the adopting parents.
Aboriginal Custom
Adoption Recognition Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Aboriginal Custom Adoption Recognition Act sets out a simple procedure where aboriginal custom adoptions can be respected and recognized by the Supreme Court so that children who are custom adopted can obtain birth certificate documentation in the appropriate name.
Marriage Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Marriage Act sets out the process for
getting married in the Northwest Territories.
Protection Against Family Violence Act (Department of Justice)
The Protection Against Family Violence Act provides additional legal tools to help protect people who
are threatened or harmed by a violent family member. This
Act provides for emergency protection orders, protection
orders and new tools for the police through warrants to
permit entry.
Inter-jurisdictional Support Orders Act (Department of Justice)
The Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act (ISO) sets out a process for a person who lives in the
Northwest Territories and needs to obtain or vary a support
order when the other person involved lives outside the
Northwest Territories. The process can result in a support
or variation order being made in the other person’s
jurisdiction without making a court application in the
Northwest Territories. Other jurisdictions in Canada have
similar legislations to provide for applications to be made
in the Northwest Territories from out of Territories.
Change of Name Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Change of Name Act sets out the process to obtain a legal change of name in the NWT. It also enables a person to assume their spouses’ surname and revert back to a former surname if the spousal relationship breaks down without a formal application under the Act. The Registrar General of Vital Statistics administers this Act and may deny changes that could cause embarrassment or mistakes to be made.
Vital Statistics
Act (Department of Health and Social Services)
The Vital Statistics Act sets out the process for the registration of births, stillbirths, marriages and deaths that occur in the Northwest Territories. The Act also gives the Registrar General authority to amend registrations and issue documents confirming these events.
This website explains the law in general. It is not intended to give you legal advice on your particular problem. Because each person's case is different, you need to get legal help. The information on this website is up to date as of April 2009.
