Spousal support - how long is liability?

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Nikolina

New member
Hi, we have been married for 15 years. Both working and studying during the marriage. My husband broke his leg in 2015 , perfectly and fully recovered from it, but decided to use this as a leverage to get some spousal support from me he lost his job in 2015 and didn't bother to find a replacement in the anticipation of SS.

We had a special chambers hearing where the judge sent us to a trial to continue, poi ting out the mistakes my ex done in preparation

My question is how long this potential liability can be open for me in the future , in case he lost his job again and decides to revisit the application?
 
Hi there;

Sounds like BS to me.

Unless he is a pro - athlete, I'm not seeing it.

Sounds like he is in 'avoidance'.

The individual who works the window at Tim Horton's, doesn't move much. I'd be advising him to start looking fast.
 
First step is to determine if there should be any SS at all.

If there is to be SS, I believe the "rule of thumb" for spousal support is 1/2 year for every year of marriage, so 7.5 years.

The exception is the "rule of 65". If the length of the marriage + spouses age > 65, then SS can be indefinite. Do if your spouse is 50+ you could be looking at indefinite SS, ie. no defined end.

Keep in mind that SS could be for a very small amount so your financial exposure, even for long term SS may be small.

It's all in the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG): https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/spousal-epoux/ssag-ldfpae.html
 
Thank you for the responses.

Judge didn't find his evidence convincing , as there was only a note from family doctor confirming that he had a broken bone. Also, he started application after he found an employment, not when he was unemployed.

He started working now, but making less. I guess he is quite upset that he didn't get anything from this court and trying to predict, if he lost job in the future , can he claim non-compensatory SS again, until 7.5 years have lapsed?
 
Assuming your ex is eligible for spousal, if you want to get out of this "liability" asap then your best bet would be to come to an agreement, either lump sum or fixed end date. If this goes to trial, you'll most likely end up with a 3 year review date - dragging this out much longer.
 
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