Rights for Spousal Support

R

randomjohndoe

New member
Hello again, everyone.

I've divorced myself a couple of years ago, now I'm helping a female friend to go through hers.

I have a bunch of questions.
Do you think the facts of domestic abuse by her ex- will/could affect judgment with regard to spousal support and/or equalization payment?

It is quite feasible to make an argument that his actions affected her professional development and thus he is financially responsible for it.

Otherwise, they both are working, and let's assume he makes 50% more.

Thank you in advance. She has a lawyer, but I'm not really happy with her (her client is unaware of many things) so I'm doing independent research.
 
randomjohndoe said:
Hello again, everyone.

I've divorced myself a couple of years ago, now I'm helping a female friend to go through hers.

I have a bunch of questions.
Do you think the facts of domestic abuse by her ex- will/could affect judgment with regard to spousal support and/or equalization payment?

It is quite feasible to make an argument that his actions affected her professional development and thus he is financially responsible for it.

Otherwise, they both are working, and let's assume he makes 50% more.

Thank you in advance. She has a lawyer, but I'm not really happy with her (her client is unaware of many things) so I'm doing independent research.
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Equalization no, spousal I'm not sure.

Divorce in Canada is no fault
 
How did his actions affect her work? Did he not allow her to work? Does she have proof of this? Unless she gave up work for the family, her claim to SS may be limited.
 
As FB mentioned, divorce in Canada is no fault, so abuse will likely have no impact.

If your friend wanted to try and say the abuse hurt them professionally, they had better have evidence to back this up. Without evidence that their career suffered, the claim is bound to be dismissed.

As for whether they are entitled, that is based off of two criteria, compensatory or non-compensatory. If there are kids and your friend stayed home to raise them for years, they will likely have sound argument for SS. Non-compensatory is when there is a large difference in income. You said the STBX makes about 50% more, for easy numbers we'll use $75k and $50k. With that, I'd say there isn't much justification for non-compensatory SS as they make 40% of the net family income.
 
Thanks everyone. She's been on long term disability as a result of his actions now for a considerable period of time. She still has income and her position is awaiting her, though.

Oh well, then I guess she'll have to sue for damages in civil court.
 
randomjohndoe said:
Thanks everyone. She's been on long term disability as a result of his actions now for a considerable period of time. She still has income and her position is awaiting her, though.

Oh well, then I guess she'll have to sue for damages in civil court.
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That's unfortunate and certainly something you could base a SS claim off of but I'm not sure how successful that would be.

Was he charged/arrested?
 
randomjohndoe said:
Thanks everyone. She's been on long term disability as a result of his actions now for a considerable period of time. She still has income and her position is awaiting her, though.

Oh well, then I guess she'll have to sue for damages in civil court.
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Mental or physical disability?

Physical - she should have filed charges and left him then
Mental - she should have left him then
 
SOS, Not to worry, there is plenty of supporting evidence and eyewitness, not including tons of circumstantial stuff.

Billm, this borders on a smart-ass remark. But things don't look so obvious for victims of domestic abuse.
 
randomjohndoe said:
SOS, Not to worry, there is plenty of supporting evidence and eyewitness, not including tons of circumstantial stuff.

Billm, this borders on a smart-ass remark. But things don't look so obvious for victims of domestic abuse.
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If I had a penny.....nevermind..
 
randomjohndoe said:
SOS, Not to worry, there is plenty of supporting evidence and eyewitness, not including tons of circumstantial stuff.

Billm, this borders on a smart-ass remark. But things don't look so obvious for victims of domestic abuse.[/QUOTE]

but no charges filed when the stuff was actually going on? That is the real proof.

So you are an expert on victims of domestic abuse?? I lived it.
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I hesitated before replying to this one ... I was assaulted by my STBX, went to ER and as soon as was able to, pressed charges and he was evicted by the police immediately. It took 18 months for the criminal case to be judged. He was sentenced - end of story.

Does it affect SS claims or property division, the answer is NO. Canada is a no-fault country (I disagree but that's another post)

Although, the aggressor's credibility will certainly be questioned because of the criminal record, it makes no difference financially.

It seems very odd to me that she would have waited all this time before pressing charges? I"m the last person to judge any one who claims to have been abused, but usually these things are taken care of immediately.
 
Thank you for your answers. My question was regarding the impact on SS, and that has been answered.

I really can't discuss details of the underlying story, I hope you understand this.
 
Do you think the facts of domestic abuse by her ex- will/could affect judgment with regard to spousal support and/or equalization payment?
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No impact at all, at law.

In practice, some people play it up and hope to pull a judge's heartstrings. Occasionally this works. Occasionally this annoys the judge, hurts their credibility and works against them.

She has a lawyer, but I'm not really happy with her
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Are you paying for her lawyer? Why is this your business?

he makes 50% more.
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Depending on their incomes, this may not be a sufficient gap for there to be a support obligation. Entitlement needs to be proved.
 
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