{"id":46075,"date":"2013-02-12T10:41:38","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T15:41:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-04-27T16:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T20:51:56","slug":"domestic-contracts","status":"publish","type":"publications-page","link":"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/domestic-contracts","title":{"rendered":"Domestic contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You and your partner can make a domestic contract, such as a <strong>marriage contract<\/strong> or a <strong>cohabitation agreement<\/strong> during your relationship. The contract can say how you will deal with property and spousal support if your relationship ends. It cannot deal with issues about children such as child support. Issues about children can only be decided after you separate.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>separation agreement<\/strong> is a type of domestic contract that you can make after you separate. It can deal with plans for your children, as well as property and spousal support. You do not have to wait until you agree on everything before making a separation agreement. You can make one on the things you agree on, while still working on your other issues.<\/p>\n<p>You do not need a lawyer to make a domestic contract. But it&#8217;s a good idea to have your own lawyer give you legal advice. A lawyer can also help you make a contract that follows the rules so that a court can order you or your partner to follow it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-46075","publications-page","type-publications-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Domestic contracts - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cleo.on.ca\/en\/publications-page\/domestic-contracts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Domestic contracts - CLEO (Community Legal Education Ontario \/ \u00c9ducation juridique communautaire Ontario)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You and your partner can make a domestic contract, such as a marriage contract or a cohabitation agreement during your relationship. 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