Spousal support and Child Support

[hubby]

Ok ... my wife want a legal seperation and well, I do not. However, I have to live with the fact she wants me out. I'm willing to work hand in hand with her to get us both throught this ... I still love her and do not resent her at all. However, with all the negative comments from her, I dont' want my persception of her to be tainted. I want to go on in life, still having the utmost respect and admiration for her and wish her well in her lifes journey.

I'm willing to pay what the law says. I've consulted the child support tables for three kids based on my Gross income.

How do I figure out Spousal support ... I'm trying to do number crunching with my budget to see how we will all survive.

I'm aware that many families that make a moderate income sometimes find it VERY difficult finanacially afterwards.

What's a hubby to do?

[Lindsay]

Hi hubby,

I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

Spousal support is a sticky subject. Determining how much your wife may be entitled to depends several factors, including (but not limited to) the roles each of you played throughout the marriage (traditional or non-traditional), whether your wife contributed to any advancement in your career and the length of the marriage.

Take a look at one of our hot threads on the subject:
http://www.ottawadivorce.com/forum/s...pousal+support

If you have any other questions, feel free to post some more. We have a lot of bright people on this forum to help you out!

Lindsay

[marc]

over ten years of marriage my wife has "given me an allowance of 25.00 dollars per week . you should know that i earn a salary of 75000.00 to 85000.00 per year . also we have know dept .. no morgage .. no car payments .. nothing . i am tired on leaving on 25.00 a week . we have two small children under four years old . i ant out . what should i do ?
thx marc

[logicalvelocity]

Having no debt and no mortage no bills, I think she is doing a wonderful job.

Why not ask her for a raise?

[hubby]

Ok ... where to begin.

I am self employed and my wife is full time with benefits. Together this just seemed like the best of both worlds. Her being full time offered stability in times where my self employement would not bring in money and she also was entitled to benefits - medical/dental for the family.

I have been self employed for many years and the money that comes into the business, fluctuates depending on the contract I am able to get. Unlike many years ago, contracts are getting harder to find.

To be able to enjoy the luxuries of life, I would income split with my wife so that we could have a comfortable life.

So ...

1. Is it better to stay as self employed or go full time? What entitlements can she receive? As we used the business to income split ... any ramifications to stopping this practice? Going full time, I many be in the salary range of 75-80G. My wife would be in the 30G range. How does going full time affect child support/spousal support payments. How are these figures calculated if salaries vary from year to year?

2. I relied on medical / dental from wife, can I still be entitled to these benefits after the sepeation?

3. What about pension benefits?

4. RRSP - I currently have about 25% more than she does ... how is this split? Must I cash some in? Transfer over? Or use this as a barganing chip to say you keep that, I keep this?

[Chopper]

What kind of custody did you get?
Did you have to fight for it?
How much did it cost?

[Grace]

Income splitting and self employment open up a whole new can of worms, in a divorce. Your business may be considered a marital asset and the value split. As for income splitting, I wouldn't continue with it, it can cause taxation issues with Revenue Canada. You need to speak with a lawyer ASAP.

As for her continuing to cover you under her benefit program, you would need to read the policy. Most do not cover a spouse once divorce, but will continue to cover the children.

Hope this helps, my ex also owns his own business, and we did the income tax split, its been a nightmare trying to divide assets.

[hubby]

Grace,

My self employed business is very simple and based on consulting services I render.

Money comes in, I cut two payroll checks. This was done to keep both our incomes levels the same and to accomodate a comfortable life style being a couple.

I will no longer be able to keep her on payroll as times are getting tough and I have to 'stretch' the money.

Can you elaborate on the 'income tax' portion? Seems like she may be liable for the debt of corportion as well if she is entitled to the assets correct.

How do the courts take into account fluctuating corporate assests and payroll levels based on the assets coming into the business?

Hubby

[Grace]

Revenue Canada doesn't like income splitting, they view it as "tax evasion".

My ex and I were income splitting, when we separated, I no longer received a salary. My ex kept his the same, for child support payments, but the judge imputed my salary on top of his and he had to pay child support based on the combined salaries. I hope I'm making sense.

The value of the business and the debts are both considered.

The courts will want 3 years of financial statements from the company.

Hope this helps