Penny Paul

Family Law

Spousal Support

Legally married spouses and those in “marriage like relationships” may have rights or obligations relating to spousal support. An application for support must be made no later than two years after separation for those in a marriage-like relationship and no more than two years after a divorce order for legally married spouses.

There are issues that need to be discussed with an expert such as:

• Entitlement
• Quantum
• Duration
• Variation
• Enforcement

Since the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines were released in 2008 they have been used to determine, with some exceptions, amount and duration of spousal support using a “without child support formula” and a “with child support formula”. These calculations are complex and you will need to discuss the matter with an expert to be sure of what the possible range is.  There is a useful simple calculator at the following link but because the type of income and range of deductions can effect the calculation this calculator should be treated as approximate only:

www.mysupportcalculator.ca

In some situations legal fees related to spousal support can be tax deductible. Talk to your accountant.

Tip – find out what the amounts are, or could be, before paying anything, agreeing to anything or making any kind of a property settlement.

Penny Paul has the expertise (and the computer software) to assist you with the most complex spousal support issues.

Need to know more - ask Penny Paul!