Unmarried parents in New Brunswick have the same legal rights to parenting time and decision-making responsibility as married parents under the Family Law Act, SNB 2020, c. 23. The province does not distinguish between married and unmarried parents when determining parenting arrangements, meaning both mothers and fathers start with equal standing before the court. Filing for a parenting order costs $75 at the Court of King's Bench, Family Division, and the court applies identical best interests of the child factors regardless of the parents' marital status.
Key Facts: Parenting Arrangements for Unmarried Parents in New Brunswick
| Factor | Details |
|---|---|
| Filing Fee | $75 for parenting order application |
| Governing Law | Family Law Act, SNB 2020, c. 23 |
| Court | Court of King's Bench, Family Division |
| Response Time | 30 days for respondent to reply |
| Timeline to Trial | 6 months (rural); 12+ months (Moncton, Saint John) |
| Default Arrangement | Shared parenting time, shared decision-making responsibility |
| Primary Consideration | Child's physical, emotional, and psychological safety |
| Fee Waiver | Available for social assistance recipients and Legal Aid clients |
Equal Parenting Rights for Unmarried Parents Under New Brunswick Law
Unmarried parents in New Brunswick possess identical parenting rights to married couples under Family Law Act, SNB 2020, c. 23, s. 52. The statute provides that unless otherwise agreed by written agreement or ordered by the court, parents have shared parenting time and shared decision-making responsibility with respect to their child. This default position applies equally whether parents were married, common-law partners, or never lived together.
The Family Law Act defines a parent as including any person who has demonstrated a settled intention to treat a child as a child of their family. This broad definition protects biological parents while also recognizing individuals who have stepped into a parental role. For unmarried fathers, establishing paternity is the critical first step before asserting parenting rights.
New Brunswick courts apply the same best interests of the child analysis to all parenting disputes, regardless of the parents' relationship status. Under Family Law Act, s. 50, the court must consider all factors related to the circumstances of the child, with primary consideration given to the child's physical, emotional, and psychological safety, security, and well-being. The analysis does not favor married parents or presume that unmarried fathers are less fit to parent.
The 2021 amendments to Canada's federal Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), s. 16 replaced the term custody with parenting arrangements, decision-making responsibility, and parenting time. While the Divorce Act applies only to married couples seeking divorce, New Brunswick's provincial Family Law Act mirrors this modern terminology for all parents, creating consistency across family law proceedings.
Establishing Paternity in New Brunswick
Unmarried fathers must establish paternity before seeking parenting orders. In New Brunswick, paternity can be established through birth registration acknowledgment, voluntary declaration, or court-ordered DNA testing. The Vital Statistics Act requires that every child born in the province be registered within 14 days of birth, and both parents can be listed on the birth record if they agree.
When an unmarried father's name appears on the birth registration with the mother's consent, that registration serves as legal recognition of paternity. If the father's name was not included at birth, parents can contact the Vital Statistics Office at (506) 453-2385 to amend the birth record. The amendment requires both parents' agreement or a court order establishing parentage.
If paternity is disputed, either parent can apply to the Court of King's Bench for a declaration of parentage. The court may order DNA testing under Family Law Act, s. 51, which permits psychiatric, psychological, social, physical, or any other examination or evaluation the court deems appropriate. Modern DNA paternity testing yields accuracy rates exceeding 99% probability of paternity when the alleged father is the biological parent, with 100% exclusion certainty when he is not.
The cost of court-ordered DNA testing in New Brunswick typically ranges from $300 to $500 for standard paternity tests. Private testing for personal knowledge (not court-admissible) costs approximately $150-$250. If testing is ordered by the court, the cost allocation depends on the outcome and judicial discretion.
Unmarried fathers who establish paternity gain the right to apply for parenting time and decision-making responsibility. Until paternity is legally established, an unmarried father has no automatic standing to seek a parenting order, even if he has been actively involved in the child's life. This makes early paternity establishment critical for fathers who wish to protect their parenting rights.
Filing for a Parenting Order as an Unmarried Parent
Unmarried parents file parenting order applications at the Court of King's Bench, Family Division, in the judicial district where the child primarily resides. The filing fee is $75 for a parenting time and decision-making responsibility application, payable by cheque or money order to the Minister of Finance for the Province of New Brunswick. Fee waivers are available under Rules of Court 72.24(2) for residents receiving social assistance under the Family Income Security Act or those represented by Legal Aid.
The application process requires completing specific court forms available through the Court of King's Bench website or the Family Law NB portal. Self-represented litigants can access the PLEIS-NB Family Law Information Line toll-free at 1-888-236-2444 for guidance on completing forms.
After filing, the applicant must serve documents on the other parent. An adult other than the applicant must personally deliver copies of all documents to the respondent and complete an Affidavit of Service as proof. The respondent then has 30 days to file a response with the court.
Under Family Law Act, s. 7, lawyers must encourage clients to attempt resolution through a family dispute resolution process before proceeding to litigation. Lawyers must certify compliance with this requirement in all filed documents. While mediation is not mandatory, the court may order parties to participate in mediation, negotiation, or collaborative law under Family Law Act, s. 8(1) if it would benefit the family.
Emergency applications are available when a child faces immediate risk. Parents can file an emergency application requesting an order preventing contact between the other parent and child. If the court agrees the situation qualifies, a teleconference with the judge occurs within 48 hours, and the adjudicator may issue an emergency order pending a full hearing.
Best Interests of the Child Factors in New Brunswick
New Brunswick courts must determine parenting arrangements solely on the best interests of the child standard. Under Family Law Act, s. 50(2), the court considers all factors related to the child's circumstances, with no single factor being automatically determinative. The statute provides a non-exhaustive list of considerations that guide judicial decision-making.
The primary consideration in every case is the child's physical, emotional, and psychological safety, security, and well-being. This factor takes precedence over all others, meaning arrangements that compromise a child's safety will not be ordered regardless of how other factors balance. The court assesses each parent's ability to provide a safe environment and protect the child from harm.
Other statutory factors include the child's needs given their age and stage of development, the nature and strength of the child's relationship with each parent and other important persons such as siblings and grandparents, and each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent. The court also considers the child's cultural, linguistic, religious, and spiritual heritage.
Family violence receives detailed statutory treatment. Under Family Law Act, s. 50(4), when considering the impact of family violence, the court must examine the nature, seriousness, and frequency of violence; whether there is a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour; whether violence is directed at the child or the child is exposed to it; physical, emotional, and psychological harm or risk to the child; and steps taken by the person engaging in violence to prevent recurrence.
The parenting time principle under Family Law Act, s. 50(6) requires courts to give effect to the principle that a child should have as much time with each parent as is consistent with the child's best interests. This replaced the former maximum contact principle and emphasizes that time allocation must serve the child's wellbeing rather than parental preferences. The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed in Barendregt v. Grebliunas, 2022 SCC 22, that this principle must not detract from the child-centric nature of the inquiry.
Parenting Time Arrangements for Unmarried Parents
Parenting time refers to the time a child spends in the care of each parent, whether or not the child is physically present with that parent during the entire period. Under Family Law Act, s. 53, the parent to whom parenting time is allocated has exclusive authority to make day-to-day decisions affecting the child during that time. This includes routine matters such as meals, bedtime, homework supervision, and minor discipline.
Common parenting time arrangements in New Brunswick include week-on/week-off schedules (50/50), alternating weekends with one weekday overnight (approximately 70/30), and primary residence with one parent with alternate weekend and holiday time for the other parent. The appropriate schedule depends on the child's age, school requirements, distance between homes, parents' work schedules, and the child's established relationships and routines.
For infants and toddlers, courts often favor shorter, more frequent parenting time periods rather than extended overnights away from the primary caregiver. As children age and develop attachments to both parents, longer periods of parenting time typically become appropriate. By school age, many children thrive with equal or near-equal parenting time if both parents can provide stable, supportive environments.
Parenting orders may include provisions regarding communication between the child and the non-present parent during parenting time, supervision requirements if safety concerns exist, geographic restrictions preventing removal of the child from a specified area without consent, and authorization or prohibition of relocation. The court tailors each order to the specific circumstances and needs of the child and family.
When parents agree on parenting arrangements, they create a parenting plan together and submit it to the court for approval. The court reviews the plan to ensure it serves the child's best interests and, if satisfied, incorporates it into a consent order. This collaborative approach is faster, less expensive, and typically produces better long-term outcomes than contested litigation.
Decision-Making Responsibility for Unmarried Parents
Decision-making responsibility refers to authority over significant decisions about a child's wellbeing, distinct from day-to-day parenting decisions made during parenting time. Under Family Law Act, s. 54, decision-making responsibility may be allocated to one parent, shared between both parents, or divided by subject matter. The default position for unmarried parents is shared decision-making responsibility.
Major decisions requiring decision-making authority include the child's education (choice of school, special education services, extracurricular activities), health care (medical treatment, therapy, vaccinations, dental care), religious or spiritual upbringing, and significant extracurricular commitments. These decisions require consultation and agreement when decision-making responsibility is shared.
When parents share decision-making responsibility, they must communicate and cooperate on major decisions. The parenting order can specify which decisions each parent may make independently and which require joint agreement. For example, an order might allow either parent to consent to routine medical care while requiring agreement for elective procedures, or permit either parent to enroll the child in recreational activities while requiring agreement on school selection.
If parents cannot agree on a major decision and share decision-making responsibility, they may need to return to court for resolution. Courts discourage this approach because litigation is costly, time-consuming, and adversarial. Many parenting orders include dispute resolution mechanisms requiring mediation or arbitration before court intervention.
Sole decision-making responsibility is awarded when the court determines that one parent should have final authority on major decisions. This typically occurs when there is a history of family violence, one parent has demonstrated an inability to prioritize the child's interests, parents have such high conflict that joint decision-making is unworkable, or one parent has abandoned the parenting relationship. Even with sole decision-making responsibility, the other parent usually retains parenting time rights unless contact would harm the child.
Child Support Obligations for Unmarried Parents
Unmarried parents have identical child support obligations to married parents. New Brunswick applies the Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175, as adopted through NB Reg 2021-19, to determine support amounts. The Guidelines provide tables setting monthly support based on the paying parent's gross annual income and number of children. The obligation exists regardless of whether parents ever married or cohabited.
The Federal Child Support Tables were updated effective October 1, 2025, reflecting 2023 tax rules. Under the 2025 tables, the minimum income threshold triggering a child support obligation increased from $13,000 to $16,000 annual gross income. Parents earning below this threshold generally have no table support obligation, though the court may impute income if a parent is voluntarily underemployed or unemployed.
Calculation methods vary based on parenting arrangements. In standard arrangements where one parent has the child more than 60% of the time, the other parent pays the full table amount based on their income. In shared parenting arrangements where each parent has the child 40% or more of the time, the court considers both parents' table amounts, the increased costs of maintaining two households capable of accommodating the child, and the child's specific needs.
For example, if an unmarried father in New Brunswick earns $60,000 annually and the mother has primary parenting time of the couple's one child, the father would pay approximately $559 per month under the 2025 Federal Child Support Tables for New Brunswick. If they share parenting time equally (50/50), support would be calculated using the set-off method, comparing both parents' table amounts against their respective incomes.
Special or extraordinary expenses under Federal Child Support Guidelines, s. 7 are shared proportionally to income in addition to table support. These include childcare expenses allowing a parent to work or attend school, health-related expenses not covered by insurance, extraordinary educational expenses, and expenses for extracurricular activities. Parents must disclose their incomes annually to ensure support remains appropriate as circumstances change.
Court Process Timeline for Parenting Disputes
The timeline from filing to trial varies significantly across New Brunswick judicial districts. In Moncton and Saint John, high case volumes mean contested matters may take 12 months or longer to reach trial. In other districts, trials may begin within 6 months of filing. Consent matters and urgent applications proceed more quickly.
After the respondent files their response (or the 30-day response period expires), the court schedules a case conference. This initial meeting with a judge or adjudicator identifies issues, explores settlement, and sets procedural timelines. Many disputes resolve at or shortly after the case conference without proceeding further.
If the matter does not settle, parties proceed to disclosure and possibly examinations for discovery. The court may order a custody evaluation (formally called a parenting assessment or voice of the child report) under Family Law Act, s. 51 to gather information about the child's needs and each parent's capacity. These assessments typically cost $3,000-$8,000 and add 2-4 months to the timeline.
A settlement conference occurs before trial, providing another opportunity for resolution with judicial assistance. Approximately 90% of family law disputes settle before trial through negotiation, mediation, or settlement conferences. Cases proceeding to trial require full hearing preparation, including witness arrangements, exhibit preparation, and legal submissions.
At trial, the judge hears evidence from both parties and any witnesses, reviews documentary evidence, and renders a decision based solely on the child's best interests. Trial decisions are typically delivered in writing 30-90 days after the hearing concludes. Appeals are possible but rarely successful unless the trial judge made a legal error or the decision is clearly unreasonable given the evidence.
Modification of Parenting Orders
Parenting orders can be modified when there is a material change in circumstances affecting the child's best interests. Common grounds for modification include a parent's relocation, significant changes in the child's needs as they mature, changes in a parent's work schedule or living situation, the emergence of safety concerns, or the child's expressed preferences as they age.
To modify an existing order, a parent files a variation application with the court that issued the original order. The applicant must demonstrate what has changed since the original order and why the proposed modification serves the child's best interests. The other parent has the opportunity to respond and present their position.
The threshold for modification is a material change, not merely a preference for different arrangements. Courts do not relitigate parenting disputes simply because one parent is dissatisfied with the outcome. The change must be significant, was not reasonably foreseeable when the original order was made, and must affect the child's best interests.
Emergency modifications are available when circumstances require immediate court intervention. If a child faces imminent risk of harm, a parent can seek an emergency variation without waiting for the standard process. The court may grant interim orders pending a full hearing if the situation warrants immediate protection.
Parents who agree to modify their arrangements can file a consent variation order without contested proceedings. This collaborative approach is faster and less expensive than litigation. The court reviews the proposed modification to ensure it serves the child's best interests before approving the consent order.
Resources for Unmarried Parents in New Brunswick
The Family Law NB website provides comprehensive information about family law proceedings, court rules, and resources for separating parents. Self-representing litigants can access annotated downloadable court forms for parenting and support applications. The site is operated by the Public Legal Education and Information Service of New Brunswick (PLEIS-NB).
The PLEIS-NB Family Law Information Line at 1-888-236-2444 offers free guidance on court procedures, form completion, and legal options. This service helps self-represented parents navigate the system without the cost of legal representation. The line is staffed by legal information providers who can explain processes but cannot provide legal advice specific to individual cases.
Legal Aid New Brunswick provides representation to eligible low-income parents in family law matters. Eligibility depends on income, assets, and the nature of the legal issue. Parents facing family violence, serious parenting disputes, or complex cases should apply for Legal Aid if they cannot afford private counsel. Applications are submitted through local Legal Aid offices across the province.
The Government of New Brunswick offers parenting programs for separated parents. These programs help parents understand the impact of separation on children, develop co-parenting skills, and reduce conflict. Participation may be required by the court as part of family dispute resolution.
Private family mediators and collaborative law practitioners offer alternatives to court proceedings. Mediation costs approximately $200-$400 per hour, with most disputes resolving in 2-5 sessions. Collaborative law involves each parent retaining a collaboratively trained lawyer, with all parties committing to reach agreement without litigation. These processes often produce better outcomes than adversarial court proceedings and preserve co-parenting relationships.