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  • Spousal Support

    How does this work exactly?

    My ex essentially did not work for the entirety of our marriage. Now that we are split, I'm fairly certain she is going to try to zing me for spousal support in addition to child support. This would ruin my finances, so I'm trying to avoid it or minimize it as best I can. I've paid for her to not work for 10 years, so I'm not crazy about the idea of continuing to do so.

    What are the factors that go into deciding if a person should receive spousal and how much?

  • #2
    About_Time,

    I assume your in Ontario. With that said, "Needs" of one spouse versus "Means" of the other spouse is the secondary consideration with paramount consideration to support of the child/children. Sometimes there just isn't sufficient funds left over for spousal support after support of the child.


    lv

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    • #3
      Don't get too hopeful if you are a payor. If she's asking and she stayed at home for that long, you'll pay something. What the court considers "sufficient" to pay and still live yourself is not what most of us consider "sufficient". It has been my experience that the court ONLY looks at the income of the payor without regard for his/her actual expenses, debtload etc.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Sk8r
        Don't get too hopeful if you are a payor. If she's asking and she stayed at home for that long, you'll pay something. What the court considers "sufficient" to pay and still live yourself is not what most of us consider "sufficient". It has been my experience that the court ONLY looks at the income of the payor without regard for his/her actual expenses, debtload etc.
        Yeah that was kind of my fear about the whole thing. My hope is that I can broker some deal with her in mediation to avoid or minimize spousal, but her lawyer may advise her to go for broke when it comes time to actually get the agreement done.

        If it is awarded to her, how long does that go on for? I mean, if she ever actually decides to get a job can I petition to have it reduced or removed?

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        • #5
          I can only speak from my own experience (or rather that of my partner's)

          He was married 4 years, lived together 2 before marriage so 6 total. 2 kids. She stayed at home from birth of the first child, so 5 years at time of split.

          They worked out a deal by which the support would end automatically after 30 months 2.5 years. Which it did, but then she took him back to court to extend it. She was awarded more as an interim measure for another 9 months. So for SURE it will be 3 years, 3 months on a 4 year marriage. Beyond that, who knows. It did get reduced a bit though.

          Really I think it depends on the recipient. The only factor by which the support continued after it was supposed to end was that she failed to employ herself. The judged didn't care that she had made no real effort to employ herself. Perhaps a trial judge might. I'll let you know.

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