Independent Legal Advice (ILA) for Family Agreements
Independent legal advice involves a lawyer advising you separately about an agreement. For property agreements, the Family Property Act also specifies a written acknowledgement made apart from the other party, before a lawyer other than the one acting for the other party or taking their acknowledgement.
What the Act Actually Requires
The requirement is an acknowledgement, and it belongs to each person separately. Each of you acknowledges three things in writing.
- 1
That you are aware of the nature and the effect of the agreement.
- 2
That you are aware of the possible future claims to property you may have under the Act, and that you intend to give them up to the extent the agreement requires.
- 3
That you are entering into the agreement freely and voluntarily, without compulsion by the other person.
Each acknowledgement is made before a lawyer other than the one acting for the other person, or before whom the other person made theirs. In practice that rules two lawyers out for you: the lawyer acting for the other person cannot take your acknowledgement, and neither can the lawyer who took theirs.
The written acknowledgements are separate from the circumstances in which the terms were negotiated. Discuss both with your lawyer; the acknowledgements do not answer every question about an agreement.
Questions to Discuss With Your Lawyer
Use the acknowledgement topics to frame questions about the agreement:
- 1
What the agreement does. Its nature and its effect, in terms of what it changes for you.
- 2
What you would otherwise have. The claims to property you could make under the Act if there were no agreement, and what this agreement gives up.
- 3
Whether you are signing freely. The acknowledgement is yours to make, and it is made away from the other person.
Ask the office what information it needs for advice about your particular agreement.
What Affects What This Work Costs
What this work involves varies, and the things that move it are specific to the agreement in front of you: how much property there is and how complicated it is, how complete the financial information already is, and whether a lawyer is drafting the agreement or reviewing one the other person's lawyer prepared.
Consultations at THEBIL Law are paid consultations. The charge is confirmed with you before the meeting and paid in advance. Ask the office what it needs from you in order to answer your questions about this work.
Which Agreement You Are Getting Advice About
The requirement is the same one whichever agreement you are signing. What the agreement itself does is different in each case, and each has its own page.
A prenuptial agreement is made before the marriage.
prenuptial agreements in Alberta›
A cohabitation agreement is made by partners who are not married to each other.
A separation agreement is made when a couple separates.
All of them sit together as the family agreements Alberta couples make.
Why THEBIL Law
Nne Christiana Udo is the family lawyer at THEBIL Law and a member of the Law Society of Alberta. She advises clients on Alberta family law and prepares and reviews family agreements.
THEBIL Law had 87 Google reviews when the count was confirmed on September 21, 2026.
Talk to a Calgary Family Lawyer
Contact THEBIL Law to discuss a family agreement and the questions you want to address.
Send a consultation request at any time, or call 403-457-3128 during office hours. After you send the form, the office contacts you to arrange a meeting.