Spousal support review?

[nogoingback]

How do I go about having spousal support reviewed?
According to my SA, the spousal support I pay after 2 years is now up for review. I can no longer afford lawyers.
Is this something that can be accomplished through mediation? If not, I will be self- repping if I must go to court.
My ex has made minimal effort to become employed, and the CS and SS are killing me. At a minimum, I want an income imputed to her.

[thefunone]

Were there any conditions set out in the review? Was she required to seek full time employment? Was she to get further educated? IS there something....anything ...that you can argue from the review that may help you? SS is not deemed to be for forever yet some seem to think so....
IMO...those are the arguments you need to focus on...you held up your end of the agreement...has she her end?
I don't believe the courts are to pleased when people think they can play games continually...

[nogoingback]

Were there any conditions set out in the review? Was she required to seek full time employment? Was she to get further educated? IS there something....anything ...that you can argue from the review that may help you? SS is not deemed to be for forever yet some seem to think so....
IMO...those are the arguments you need to focus on...you held up your end of the agreement...has she her end?
I don't believe the courts are to pleased when people think they can play games continually...

IMO, she is playing games and is not living up to her end of the bargain. Yes there are a few things I can argue.

• The SS was up for review in June 2013, on the 2 year anniversary of our SA.
• She was to use "best efforts" to become employed by then.
• She subsequently made written promises to have written a certification exam to enable to practice in her field. She has not followed through
• our two children will be enrolled in school fulltime as of Sept 2013.
• Not sure if relevant, but she refuses to share any information about her employment plans, her job application efforts

We do have a dispute resolution clause in our SA. My question is, knowing that she will never simply agree to me reducing SS, how do I begin the SS review? Some posters have described lengthy and presumably costly court battles. I don't have the financial resources for this. Can I simply propose mediation? Is that appropriate? Or do I file a motion? Any advice appreciated.

[arabian]

Just file a motion. To the motion you attach your sworn affidavit. Mediation for what? You don't want to pay anymore. End of discussion (don't get sucked into that).

Keep your affidavit short and to the point. Only put in it what you can prove 100%. I wouldn't focus too much on getting info about her employment plans - do you really care? You weren't married long and she is no longer your responsibility. I'd make a motion to have her immediately imputed. There will be some back and forth. If you settle (or agree on consent) you can perhaps offer a step-up imputing (Sept - December $$ and January 1st full income imputation or something like that).

I think you should read and re-read your SA. Know it well. You will likely see that you have complied with the agreement and the dispute resolution clause was if there was a problem during the past 2 years - not after the end of the SA. This can make a significant difference.

Other posters here will be from the same province as you and can give you more specific forms that you might have to fill out, how many copies to file at court house, how to properly have her served, etc.

[Mess]

I agree with Arabian.

Don't be deterred by the idea of "costly" litigation. Your ex will not come to the table to negotiate if there is no motivation.

The second you file an application - which can be done yourself with guidance from experience here on the board - your ex will be motivated to come to the table.

I am not really a fan of mediation. It works if both parties want to settle. If one party does not, it is a waste of time and money. If the situation is clear from a legal standpoint, then what is there to mediate? In a lot of cases you pay a lot of money, waste a lot of time, and are pushed into a compromise "middle ground" that is really not supported in law. What I mean, for you, support should end now. A mediator will push for a compromise. That means you are paying a mediator hundreds of dollars an hour to push you into extend support unnecessarily. How is that a good thing?

By filing an application you are bringing your ex to the table to settle. 90% of court applications are settled before trial. Set your boundaries and present to your ex that they will incure ridiculous costs just to lose in court. That they should settle out of court on a fact-base, law-based settlement. You will be surprised how effective that stance can be.

[nogoingback]

Just file a motion. To the motion you attach your sworn affidavit. Mediation for what? You don't want to pay anymore. End of discussion (don't get sucked into that).

Thanks for the advice

Keep your affidavit short and to the point. Only put in it what you can prove 100%. I wouldn't focus too much on getting info about her employment plans - do you really care?

I care, not in a nosy sense, but because my SA states: "the efforts that ex has made towards obtaining employment, and the ex's overall circumstances at that time will be considered at the time of review"

[nogoingback]

I am not really a fan of mediation. It works if both parties want to settle. If one party does not, it is a waste of time and money. If the situation is clear from a legal standpoint, then what is there to mediate? In a lot of cases you pay a lot of money, waste a lot of time, and are pushed into a compromise "middle ground" that is really not supported in law. What I mean, for you, support should end now. A mediator will push for a compromise. That means you are paying a mediator hundreds of dollars an hour to push you into extend support unnecessarily. How is that a good thing?

I appreciate the advice. I am not a fan of mediation either, but I thought since mediation is part of the dispute resolution in our SA, that I had better demonstrate some effort.

By filing an application you are bringing your ex to the table to settle. 90% of court applications are settled before trial. Set your boundaries and present to your ex that they will incure ridiculous costs just to lose in court. That they should settle out of court on a fact-base, law-based settlement. You will be surprised how effective that stance can be.

I hadn't thought of it this way. Saving money sounds like a valid reason (excuse?) to avoid mediation. Her lawyer unsuccessfully tried to nail me for refusing mediation prior to our trial; it was not true and the judge read through the nonsense. I mention this because I fear if I do not show at least a semi honest attempt, it will look badly, lead to costs awarded etc.. But I strongly prefer the more efficient route you suggest.