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A: Alberta’s Family Law Act defines who is a guardian in many ways. Each person in a couple is a guardian if:
  1. They are married when the child is born;
  2. They marry after the child is born;
  3. Their marriage legally ends no more than 300 days BEFORE the child’s birth;
  4. If they were in an adult interdependent relationship (AIR) when the child was born or entered into an AIR after the child was born (Alberta’s Adult Interdependent Relationships Act sets out what must occur for an unmarried couple to be in an AIR.);
  5. The couple lived together for a 12-month stretch, during which time the child was born; or
  6. If the couple agree in writing that they both are the child’s guardians.

Also, if the child lives with one of its parents for a year, that parent is a guardian. It does not matter if the child lives with someone else afterward – that parent remains a guardian. In addition, a person may become a guardian if they are appointed as such, by will or deed, by a parent of a child who is a guardian.

 

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