Future spousal support

[Bols2Dawall]

Hello all . This is my 1st post so be a little forgiving if there are mistakes made . First a little history.
I've been divorced 10 yrs. My ex and i were married & together for approx. 14 yrs. (no children) During that time she was injured on the job & became unable to work
I was stunned when i had contacted a lawyer & was informed i was responsible by law to pay approx. 1/3 of my gross pay to her ($20.000 a year), FOREVER .
Anyway , she & her lawyer came up with an agreement where she got the house & i pay $800.00 a month and keep her on my benefits as long as i'm working . Not at all fair , but much better than what the law would allow .
i have remarried and i am approx 10 yrs from retirement . I have been socking money away into RSP's but now i'm wondering if perhaps i should stop my contributions . What happens when i retire ? I know if i bring in less money i can have the divorce agreement , possibly , altered . What would be the best way to approach retirement ? Is there somewhere i can put my money that she ( or her lawyer) won't be able to find ?
I don't know what to do . I know i won't be able to afford $800.00 a month when i retire .
Should i contact my ex now to see what her intentions are once i retire ?
If no one can help me here can you recommend a "type" of lawyer i should be talking to regarding financial options ? T I A

[Bols2Dawall]

Any input folks ? P.M. me if you please

[Bols2Dawall]

just bumping - no thoughts folks ?

[Bols2Dawall]

anyone please

[HammerDad]

I would get a lawyer and then advise the ex that (if you are planning on retiring soon) that you plan on retiring and that would constitute a material change in circumstances and that you will be looking to revisit the amount being paid in SS to reflect you income upon retirement.

Do not just stop paying it until you a new agreement in place or a court order or you will be accumulating arrears and could get screwed over by FRO.

But I wouldn't be doing this unless retirement was pretty much within the next year or so. If it is like 5-10 years away, I wouldn't even broach the subject with her.

[Bols2Dawall]

Thanks Hammer .
Retirement's approx. 10 years away for me , i'm just wondering if any RRSP's i have accumulated since my divorce will count toward income as far as SS is concerned or is it an asset ? (is there a difference?)
Will the courts (if necessary) just be looking at my retirement income (it should be just my CPP or assetts too ? Will they be looking at just my income or my present wifes too ?
Thanks for your patience in advance

[dadtotheend]

The court would look at your retirement income which will include withdrawals from registered plans, CPP, OAS and whatever other income you might have.

[HammerDad]

What will most likely happen is your income will be imputed/estimated for the first year and then based off of line 150 of your income tax each year moving forward. So it will be based off of all forms of income you use RSP's, CPP and any other form of income.

[billm]

Hello all . This is my 1st post so be a little forgiving if there are mistakes made . First a little history.
I've been divorced 10 yrs. My ex and i were married & together for approx. 14 yrs. (no children) During that time she was injured on the job & became unable to work
I was stunned when i had contacted a lawyer & was informed i was responsible by law to pay approx. 1/3 of my gross pay to her ($20.000 a year), FOREVER .
Anyway , she & her lawyer came up with an agreement where she got the house & i pay $800.00 a month and keep her on my benefits as long as i'm working . Not at all fair , but much better than what the law would allow .
i have remarried and i am approx 10 yrs from retirement . I have been socking money away into RSP's but now i'm wondering if perhaps i should stop my contributions . What happens when i retire ? I know if i bring in less money i can have the divorce agreement , possibly , altered . What would be the best way to approach retirement ? Is there somewhere i can put my money that she ( or her lawyer) won't be able to find ?
I don't know what to do . I know i won't be able to afford $800.00 a month when i retire .
Should i contact my ex now to see what her intentions are once i retire ?
If no one can help me here can you recommend a "type" of lawyer i should be talking to regarding financial options ? T I A

This really floors me - separation agreements, written by expensive lawyers, that don't have all this spelled out - this is why I wrote my own separation agreement starting with a divorce kit, and using information gained including from this forum. My agreement covers all expected future events.

How can lawyers be so completely incompetent that they don't have these expected events covered, and also seriously, why don't clients pick up on these things?

Does your agreement really say simply that you shall pay her $800/month and nothing else?

[Bols2Dawall]

Does your agreement really say simply that you shall pay her $800/month and nothing else?

More or less Bill .
It shows that all assets were split
The ex's lawyer at the time wanted much more money but the ex actually came up with something like $650.00 a month initially then a $25.00 per month rase every 2 years until a cap of $800.00 was met . I also have to keep her on my company benefits and she is named as the beneficiary on my employers Life Insurance plan . It also stipulates that should there be any drastic changes in income the agreement can be revisited .

[representingself]

Hello all . This is my 1st post so be a little forgiving if there are mistakes made . First a little history.
I've been divorced 10 yrs. My ex and i were married & together for approx. 14 yrs. (no children) During that time she was injured on the job & became unable to work
I was stunned when i had contacted a lawyer & was informed i was responsible by law to pay approx. 1/3 of my gross pay to her ($20.000 a year), FOREVER .
Anyway , she & her lawyer came up with an agreement where she got the house & i pay $800.00 a month and keep her on my benefits as long as i'm working . Not at all fair , but much better than what the law would allow .

If you were married for only 14 years, why did you agree to this?

First off, it is totally unreasonable for you to pay SS for the rest of your life after what can be construed as a relatively short marriage.

Does she work at all? Does she have a new partner? Does she receive any financial compensation for her work related injury?

If I were you, I would be looking at ending the SS payments alltogether.

[Bols2Dawall]

She was injured when we were married & cannot work again .
She cannot work therefore i get screwed .
She receives CPP and Workers Comp. , i believe .
She is not with anyone else .
When it came time to come to a divorce settlement , my lawyer at the time even told me i was screwed (because she cannot work )
I was told by my lawyer to expect to pay between $1200. & $1400. a month forever , so obviously i was relieved when my ex came up with her idea for a settlement .
I just know i won't be able to pay this amount when i retire .

[representingself]

I don't know much about spousal support... but I don't get why you would be responsible for her forever...because she hurt herself at work.

If her injuries were that bad, she should have hired a personal injury attorney, and sued the company she was working for.

It is not your fault she got hurt...

[Bols2Dawall]

but I don't get why you would be responsible for her forever...
It is not your fault she got hurt...

This is what i don't get either . I didn't hurt her
(although i'd like to now J/K)
Apparently it's a case of she needs to live in the style and manner she was accustomed to .

[representingself]

This is what i don't get either . I didn't hurt her
(although i'd like to now J/K)
Apparently it's a case of she needs to live in the style and manner she was accustomed to .

That is such bullshit...