Time limit for common law spouse to ask for spousal support in ontario

[kevin999]

Does anyone know what is the time limit for a common law spouse to make a request for support from the date that cohabitation ceases in ontario? We had been living together for 6 years, and there are no kids involved. We stopped living together about 6 months ago, but are still friends and see each other once in a while.

She wants to come back and live with me again when i move into my next place in a few weeks, but i don't intend to let her and would like to break it off entirely. I haven't told her this yet for fear that she will then call a lawyer, but am wondering if enough time has elapsed from when we stopped living together to prevent her from requesting support.

[Foredeck]

There is no specifics. However, the general rule of thumb is a year. If she's been able to live on her own for a year, it means that she is not dependant on you.

If she does ask, it would only be for about 3 years, which is half of the total time you were together.

There's a document you can find online. "Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines" which was printed in July 2008 by the Minister of Justice. It's several hundred pages long, and you'll skip a few sections.

I read through it mostly to understand the worse case scenario and it gave me a lot of piece of mind.

Is her salary much lower then yours?

[kevin999]

Hi Foredeck

Thanks for your response. She has no job and has had no job for most of our time together, hence my desire to get out (not because she cant work, she is lazy).

She has lived in her friends basement for the past 6 months who have let her stay for free, i have given some support including helping to pay for them to renovate their basement so she had a place to stay ($2500), and, i have helped her with groceries, clothes, etc.. from time to time. But she's still being lazy and is not going to change, and i have had enough.

My entire situation is summarized in a thread i started last winter here:

http://www.ottawadivorce.com/forum/f...ituation-4039/

Based on the responses i got, it looks like i would be on the hook for about $500 - $800 a month if she pursued it.

I've been staying at my dads this past summer and I havent told her i got a place yet and am moving in a few weeks, so i can keep "stalling" her till the spring telling her i'm still staying at my dads place until a full year has elapsed if you think this would make it more difficult for her to make a claim?

Failing that, as a last resort, i will lie to her and tell her i've been diagnosed with terminal cancer and i have a year or two to live, and then hopefully she will feel sorry and not come after me.

[Foredeck]

hehe, good luck with that .

I am no expert and far from a lawyer, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

First, record everything you give her. I kept a record of everytime my ex borrowed the car, on top of all the extra money I gave her.

Second, if you stall, it might just push the decision further. If it's found that you've stalled, the 1 year is out the window I'm guessing.

By my math, if it's 500$ per month, for 3 years, that's 18 000$. You've already given 2500 plus a bit more. So, you might only have 10 000$ left to pay her in spousal support.

My advice would be to hit it head on. Maybe prepare an offer that's fair, and get her to sign it.

Also, the longer it drags out, the more she'll talk to people. And, the general population is fairly ignorant of the laws. They might put it in her head that she deserves more support and for a longer time frame. Which will lead to a lot of fights.

[representingself]

Originally Posted by kevin999

Failing that, as a last resort, i will lie to her and tell her i've been diagnosed with terminal cancer and i have a year or two to live, and then hopefully she will feel sorry and not come after me.

HAHAHAHA.....

Other than being lazy, is there any other reason why she refuses to work??

I don't see how your relationship with her could have negatively affected her ability to self support?

I don't know squat about common law issues, but I don't see why you would have to provide her with any financial/spousal support.

As far as I see it, she got a free ride for 6 years, so she should be thankful for that, and move on!

[Mess]

If she is able bodied and making no attempt to find employment or take any courses, then you have an excellent chance of imputing an income for her, the amount she should be able to earn.

Now, she has no skills and no experience, so you can't expect much but certainly she should be able to get a basic job earning $15-20k per year. It would be ridiculous for her to claim that she couldn't earn at least that much and if she isn't trying that looks really bad on her.

You would be on the hook for more, IMHO, if she were signing up for a college course, she would have a reason for not working full time and she could hit you up for some or all of the tuition. She could try at any rate, you would have your own counter arguements, but this would be a more vulnerable position for you.

But if she is doing nothing with herself, then this weakens her arguement considerably.

[kevin999]

She is part native, so, in 2004, the metes foundation funded the tuition (and even living expenses!) for a full time 1 year dental assistant course at cdi college. In the fourth quarter, she dropped out and did nothing with it.

Last year, her mom paid $1000 for a 1 week dental database software training course which she also did nothing with.

Myself, her mom, and another friend have all found her good jobs which she just quit after a short time for one reason or another...boss is a jerk, too far, too cold, too hot, etc...

Also, in the summer of 2006 she had an affair which lasted the whole summer. I don't know if this would have any impact on the case.

Quite a piece of work, eh?