Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Will I qualify for Spousal support?

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Will I qualify for Spousal support?

    I am not currently working outside the home. I'm actively searching for full time work but with the economy and my lack of post-secondary education, am having a hard time. My biggest stress is what am I going to live off?

    I know my husband will gladly offer child support, but since we plan to share custody I'm not sure how that will work. I'm less sure of him paying spousal support.

    I will be the one moving out since I can't afford to buy him out. After our debts and a well-used line of credit, there will not be very much money coming to me in the buy-out. (Still doing the math on that though.)

    Anyway, I'm trying to budget to see what I will have coming in so I know what my minimum salary expectation is.

    That's the long winded way to ask if people think I even qualify for spousal support based on what I've told you here.

    Cheers,
    Sandra

  • #2
    more details like if you stayed at home with the kids, for how long, what you did before etc would help.

    Comment


    • #3
      How much does he make? What does he do for a living? How long were you married? When was the last time you were employed full time?

      How old are the kids?

      Comment


      • #4
        Here's a website describing situations in which describes entitlement for spousal support (plus other links for child support info and other divorce/family topics)

        Spousal Support

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by standing on the sidelines View Post
          more details like if you stayed at home with the kids, for how long, what you did before etc would help.
          Thanks Ed! lol

          Yes, I stayed at home for most of the time then went back to work on a contract basis once the kids were a bit older. Those contracts were short lived and well spaced. I have been out of work for about 18 months now.

          Before kids I was a retail manager. The hours are not conducive to being a single parent however, so I am not looking to go back to that field. Not that I have ruled it out, I am applying to everything! But ideally, I am looking at more administrative assistant, office manager type roles, which is what I did for my contract work.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by sandrac View Post
            Thanks Ed! lol

            Yes, I stayed at home for most of the time then went back to work on a contract basis once the kids were a bit older. Those contracts were short lived and well spaced. I have been out of work for about 18 months now.

            Before kids I was a retail manager. The hours are not conducive to being a single parent however, so I am not looking to go back to that field. Not that I have ruled it out, I am applying to everything! But ideally, I am looking at more administrative assistant, office manager type roles, which is what I did for my contract work.
            few more of the things that matter
            1- length of cohabitation
            2- ability to earn
            3- respective annual incomes.

            the judge and and most other people are unlikely to favour "I am not looking to go back to that field", make sure you continue to find a job in that field too.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by sahibjee View Post
              few more of the things that matter
              1- length of cohabitation
              2- ability to earn
              3- respective annual incomes.

              the judge and and most other people are unlikely to favour "I am not looking to go back to that field", make sure you continue to find a job in that field too.
              Length of cohabitation: 25 years,
              Ability to earn: no post secondary education so will have to start at entry level jobs for the most part, but certainly willing to train.
              Incomes: He makes $90 000, I make nothing.

              I realize I can't rule out any one area of employment which is why I'm applying to everything, including retail jobs. They don't however pay enough for me to live on and I have to think of that too.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by billm View Post
                How much does he make? What does he do for a living? How long were you married? When was the last time you were employed full time?

                How old are the kids?
                He makes $90 000. He's an engineer. We're married 19 years last week and lived common law for 5 before that. I've been working on and off for brief periods over the last 7 years. It's been 18 months since I last worked full (or part) time.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Add your length of marriage/cohab to your age. If you pass 65 you are entitled for spousal support indefinitely (see web for more information).

                  SS is not set in that it sometimes depends upon your equalization. If you receive little in the way of equalization then usually you would be entitled to more - this is why so many people try to be as generous with equalization as they can and top it up with lump sum spousal support.

                  There are two formulas that are looked at for GUIDANCE and you can find the information on the internet. One program used by lawyers here in Alberta is Childview. You can go into that for free and do some basic number crunching. There are TWO DIFFERENT FORUMULAS - one with children and one without. The next step to do is read up on recent SS awards in your province. People on here read up on CANLII. I browsed the internet and typed in Spousal Support Awards - Alberta and got all sorts of useful information. I was fortunate in having a good lawyer, however, who had all the numbers for me the first time we met (3 months before my separation) so I had a ball-park figure.

                  Lots and lots of things to consider. You can probably get lots of info on this site as well.

                  Good luck and hope your divorce journey doesn't leave too many scars!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    It is unlikely you will be allowed to list $0000 as your income. You will likely be imputed at least at min-wage, so $20k per year minimum. Just keep that in mind.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Assuming you found some basic fulltime work, here's how numbers could work out IF you were entitled to SS.

                      The CS and tax #'s are assuming you are in Ontario, you each claim one kid as dependent. I ignored child tax credits (you each claim for one kid), but because of his income he probably wouldn't receive anything.

                      20K gross income + 6K SS -> 22286 aftertax, + 11844 CS = 34130 net income

                      90K gross income - 6K SS -> 61293 aftertax, - 11844 CS = 49449 net income

                      This puts your net income at 41% of your combined net income, which I think is about the starting point for SS.

                      If you earned more, then your CS would be less (see the guidelines for a description on how this works). e.g. if you earned 30K, then your CS would be $1584 (yearly) less.

                      In addition, you would each pay a proportionate share (e.g. 80%-20%)of any extraordinary expenses e.g. high-level sport/arts activities, major school trips, major medical/dental bills not covered by health plan benefits.
                      Last edited by dinkyface; 11-02-2012, 01:38 AM.

                      Comment

                      Our Divorce Forums
                      Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
                      Working...
                      X