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Spousal Support and Odsp benefits --help

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  • Spousal Support and Odsp benefits --help

    My x collects odsp benefits and also wants a lump sum of spousal support. She wants me to give her this without going to court. I called odsp people up and they tell me all spousal support is treated as income. My x wants to collect odsp due to the benfits received such as paid medication and dental plan but also wants a significant lump sum spousal support from me. If spousal support is ordered through court the x will lose her odsp benefit. If I just give her the lump sum then they treat it as gift. odsp people referred me to fraud dept to report her. I do not want to do that as she really does require the benefits but I don't want to be involved in her fraudulent schemes.

    Does anyone have any answers that may help my problem

    Thank You

  • #2
    Hi Ken and welcome to the divorce forums!

    This is one of those situations where you really need to consult with a lawyer to find out your spousal support obligations and then do the math as to what’s a reasonable settlement. A lawyer can advise you as to how much spousal support you may have to pay, and then you can calculate whether a paying the lump sum requested is a good deal.

    I don’t know about ODSP in particular, but a lot of social services agencies across Canada have an obligation to pursue spousal support, regardless of whether the support recipient wants to do that.

    Lump sum spousal support is fairly unusual - usually spousal support is paid monthly. Some of the circumstances in which a court may award spousal support as a lump sum are:

    -if the support payor is wealthy but has a limited income
    -if the support payor has a history of not making support payments
    -short-terms marriages, especially if there are no children and the couple is young
    -if the support recipient needs the funds for training to re-establish their career
    -where the support payor is moving out of the country
    -if the support recipient needs the funds to buy a new home

    There are some practical disadvantages to lump sum spousal support. You might be taking a risk that if your ex spends all of the lump sum spousal support, she can come back for more. As well, normally spousal support is tax deductible, but when paid as a lump sum, there’s no tax break. Given that you’re probably in a higher tax bracket than your ex, there’s a tax savings that may be lost. Finally, you’re taking the normal gambles of time - e.g. in giving a lump sum of spousal support you’re gambling that you’re ex isn’t going to pass away early, you’re ex isn’t going to get remarried, you’re not going to lose your job, or any of a number of occurrences that may be grounds for reducing spousal support.
    Ottawa Divorce

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    • #3
      Jeff
      thank you for a quick response.

      The x wants me to pay her in 4 instalments of 5000 and over 4 months.

      Odsp people tell me she is allowed to have 5000 in assests at any given time over above personal stuff and automobile.

      They tell me if any spousal support is through court she will have to claim what she receives an income.

      The x insists that I pay her out of court to settle and will provide waivor. Odsp people tell me any wavior she gives is not worth the paper it is written on. They tell me she is in no postion to waivor any source of income.

      The told me she does have obligation to seek an income from all sources.

      20, 000 is a lot of money to me and I cannot afford that money over 4 months.

      I told her what odsp told me. She just wants cake and pie to and wants me to co-operate with her so she can scam odsp. I do not think this is right.

      I also told her a monthly amount enough to keep her being on odsp would be more reasonable.

      Ken

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      • #4
        Yes, spousal support is never really over, especially in a long-term marriage, so depending on your circumstances, a waiver may well be worthless, especially if she is signing it without legal representation.
        Ottawa Divorce

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