By Jaswal Law | May 11th 2026 | Family Law
We hear a lot of questions at our office on 50th Street. Some come in during a free consultation, some get whispered across the desk because people feel a little embarrassed asking, and some we know people have already spent an hour Googling at midnight before picking up the phone.
Over the years, a handful of questions keep coming back. They cross different areas of law – family, wills, estates – but they share something in common: the answers aren’t what most people expect. And knowing the real answer, before a decision is made or a crisis hits, can make a significant difference.
Here are five of the questions we hear most often, along with the honest answers.
This is probably the most common misconception we encounter in family law, and it carries real emotional weight. When someone has been betrayed, it feels deeply unfair that the law doesn’t seem to care. But here’s the truth: in Alberta, it doesn’t.
Alberta operates under a no-fault divorce system. That means the conduct that ended your marriage – infidelity, lying, emotional neglect, whatever the story is – has no bearing on how property gets divided or how parenting arrangements are determined. Courts evaluating property division under Alberta’s Family Property Act focus on what was acquired during the marriage and how to divide it equitably. Courts evaluating parenting arrangements focus on one thing only: what is in the best interests of the children. Neither test leaves room for moral accounting.
This isn’t a flaw in the system – it’s a deliberate design choice to keep family court focused on practical outcomes rather than relitigating who hurt whom. The marriage broke down. The law moves forward from there.
What this means practically: if you’re entering a separation believing infidelity gives you leverage over property division or custody, you may be negotiating from a false position – and that can cost you. Understanding the actual legal framework from the start puts you in a far stronger place.
Yes – and more people are in this situation than you might think.
In Alberta, separation is a state, not a document. There is no official form to sign, no government office to notify, and no requirement to be living in separate homes. What matters is that the relationship has genuinely broken down and at least one person intends for the separation to be permanent.
Courts have recognized that spouses can be legally separated while living under the same roof, as long as they’re genuinely living separate lives – sleeping separately, no longer sharing meals as a couple, not attending social events together as a couple, and not maintaining the emotional or domestic partnership of a marriage. This is more common than most people realize, particularly in Alberta’s housing market where moving out immediately isn’t always financially viable.
The practical concern, and the reason getting legal advice early matters here, is documentation. If you’re separated under the same roof and a dispute later arises about when the separation actually began – which affects property valuation dates, support calculations, and the one-year clock required before a divorce can be granted – you want clarity. A lawyer can help you establish and protect that date from the start, before it becomes a point of contention.
This one surprises almost everyone, and the answer is nuanced enough that it’s worth understanding properly.
In Alberta, property division on separation is governed by the Family Property Act. As a general rule, assets acquired during the marriage are considered family property and subject to equal division. But certain assets can be excluded – and inheritances received by one spouse, even during the marriage, may qualify.
Here’s where it gets important: what’s often excluded is the original inheritance itself. What may not be excluded is any growth or increase in value that occurred while you were married. If you inherited $50,000 and it sat in a savings account, the original amount may be protected. If you used it to buy investments that grew to $200,000, your spouse may have a claim to a share of that growth.
It also matters what you did with it. An inheritance that was deposited into a joint account, used to renovate the family home, or otherwise mixed with family finances becomes much harder to trace and protect.
This is exactly the kind of situation where getting legal advice early – ideally before or well before a separation – makes a meaningful difference. Keeping clear records of inherited funds and how they’ve been held can be the difference between protecting an inheritance and losing it.
In Alberta, a will that is entirely in your own handwriting – called a holograph will – is technically valid without witnesses. So yes, it’s legally possible to write your own will.
But here’s what most people don’t realize: the bar for what counts as “entirely in your own handwriting” is strict, and most attempts at a DIY will fall short. If any portion of it is printed, typed, or filled into a template, the will may not be valid. If it’s unclear, ambiguous, or missing key elements, it may be challenged or interpreted in ways you never intended. And if you’ve named an executor without properly addressing what happens if they predecease you, or left out assets, or failed to account for a major life change since you wrote it – a handwritten note on paper may do less than you think.
Online will platforms have made this feel even more accessible, and for very simple estates they may produce serviceable results. But “serviceable” isn’t the same as “what you actually wanted.” These tools are built around generic assumptions. They don’t know that your common-law relationship in Alberta means your partner has different rights than a spouse. They don’t flag that your beneficiary designations on your RRSP may contradict what your will says. They don’t ask about the blended family situation that changes everything.
The honest answer: a properly drafted will, done with a lawyer, is not as expensive or complicated as people assume. And for something that exists to protect the people you love most, the difference between getting it right and getting it almost right matters a great deal.
Being named as someone’s executor – or personal representative, as it’s called in Alberta – is genuinely meaningful. It means the person trusted you above everyone else to handle their affairs. It’s an honour.
It’s also a significant amount of work, and people are often unprepared for what it involves.
As executor, you are legally responsible for locating the will and filing it with the court if probate is required, identifying and gathering all of the deceased’s assets, notifying beneficiaries and relevant institutions, paying outstanding debts, taxes, and estate expenses before distributing anything to beneficiaries, filing the deceased’s final tax return, and ultimately distributing the estate according to the will’s instructions – and accounting for all of it.
Depending on the complexity of the estate, this process can take anywhere from a few months to well over a year. Executors can be held personally liable if they distribute assets before debts are settled, or if they make decisions that harm the estate. And if beneficiaries disagree with how things are being handled, you may find yourself in the middle of a family dispute you didn’t sign up for.
None of this is meant to be alarming – most estates move through the process without major drama. But it does mean that when you’re named as executor, getting legal guidance early isn’t just helpful, it’s genuinely protective. A lawyer can walk you through your obligations, help with probate if it’s required, and ensure you’re not inadvertently exposed to personal liability while trying to do right by your family.
Each of these questions gets a cleaner, simpler answer when it’s asked early – before a situation has escalated, before a document has been signed, before a decision has been made that’s hard to undo. That’s not a sales pitch. It’s just the practical reality of how legal matters work.
If any of these questions have been sitting in the back of your mind, we’re happy to talk through your specific situation. Every new client at Jaswal Law receives a free 30-minute consultation, no obligation.
Phone: 780-737-9999
Email: info@jaswal-law.ca
Office: 5008A-50th St, Beaumont, Alberta T4X 1E6
Proudly serving Beaumont, Edmonton, Leduc, Sherwood Park, Camrose, Wetaskiwin & surrounding areas.
This blog provides general information only and is not legal advice. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a qualified lawyer.