[Divorce] Spousal Support

https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/divorce/support/spousal.php

Spousal Support

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The law views spousal relationships as financial partnerships. When the partnership breaks down, the person with more income or assets may have to pay support to the other. At the same time, the law expects adults to look after their own needs to the best of their abilities.

To decide on how much spousal support and the length of time that it should be paid, the law says that judges must consider a number of factors, including how much the person asking for support needs to meet his or her needs, and how much the other person can afford to pay. A person may claim support to help him or her become financially self-sufficient or to keep from ending up in serious financial difficulty.

Advisory Spousal Support Guidelines are available to help parties discuss the appropriate amount of spousal support to be paid. If the parties proceed to court, the court may consider these guidelines in determining how much spousal support should be paid, but they are not binding.

Note: Spousal Support Guidelines are different from Child Support Guidelines, which the court is required to follow.

For more information about the spousal support laws in ontario, see the publication: Separation and Divorce: Spousal Support

Support amounts

Click here for more information on the Spousal Support Guidelines. 

Click here for mysupportcalculator.ca, an external program that can help you calculate your monthly child and spousal support payments. 

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What is spousal support?

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Spousal support is money paid by one spouse to the other after they separate or divorce.

Spousal support is almost always paid by the spouse with the higher income to the spouse with the lower income. The gender of the spouses does not matter.

Who can get spousal support?

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Both married and unmarried (common-law) spouses may be able to get spousal support, or may have to pay spousal support. If the spouses are not married, they must have lived together as a couple:

• for at least 3 years, or
• for any length of time if they were in a relationship of "some permanence" and had a child together

What is spousal support for?

The purposes of spousal support are to:

• recognize a spouse's contributions to the relationship
• share the financial costs of caring for a child
• relieve financial hardship
• help a spouse become able to contribute to his or her own support
• correct any economic advantage or disadvantage to a spouse caused by the relationship or the relationship breakdown. For example, if a spouse gave up their job to care for the children, they may not be able to become self-supporting right away.

In most situations, spouses are expected to try to become self-supporting as soon as possible.

How do you get spousal support?

previousSpousal support can be negotiated and agreed on by the spouses and written into a separation agreement.

This is often done along with other issues such as child support, parenting arrangements (custody and access), and property division.

Lawyers and mediators can help the spouses reach an agreement. But if the spouses cannot agree, a judge or arbitrator can decide.

There is more information about these topics in other resources in CLEO's Family Law Series. 

CLEO’s Steps to Justice website also has step-by-step information about common legal problems, including family law issues. Visit www.stepstojustice.ca.

How do judges decide on spousal support?

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A judge may decide that one spouse must pay support because of their ability to pay and the other spouse's financial need. Or the reason may be to compensate the other spouse for unpaid work that he or she did during the relationship.

If the judge decides there should be spousal support, the judge must then decide the amount of support and for how long it must be paid. The judge will take into account things such as:

• the length of the relationship,
• whether there are children and what arrangements have been made for them,
• the roles the spouses played during the relationship,
• the age of each spouse, and
• each spouse's financial situation.

The judge may also consider the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs).

Can you calculate your spousal support amount yourself?

previousUntil recently, this was very difficult to do without the special software that lawyers and judges use. Now you can go online and use the calculator at www.mysupportcalculator.ca. But this website can do only simple calculations, and takes into account only employment income. So it is usually best to consult a lawyer to be sure you have considered everything and fully understand your spousal support rights or obligations.