My wife and I were married for ten years, but we both worked throughout our marriage. We have no children. We're thinking about divorcing; will I have to pay support to her even though our incomes are about the same?

In all likelihood, no. The bulk of the cases suggest that a spouse claiming support must have suffered some sort of financial disadvantage from the marriage or its breakdown. If you're both working, if her carreer didn't suffer as a result of the marriage, and if your incomes are now about the same, you shouldn't have to pay spousal support.

My partner and I have lived together for the last four years but we've never married. Can I claim support from her?

Yes. As long as your relationship was "marriage like" and exceeded two years' duration, you and she are entitled to claim support from one another. You must make your application within one year of your separation from your partner, and you must be able to set out in s. 89 of the Family Relations Act. This is discussed in the chapter "Spousal Support > Basic Principles."

If I offer to pay for additional IT training to 'top up' his skill set and enable him to receive industry recongnized certifications, will I still have to pay him spousal support? (by S of Hamilton, ON)

My wife is asking for child support and alimony appraoching 70% of my income. She is 40 years old, had a career, although took some time off, but is fully capable of working either full-time, part time, or even from home. How feasible is it that a judge would consider this a fair settlement? Help! (by S of Vancouver, BC)

I normally live and work in Holland, my wife lives in BC. She is sueing me for child support and spousal support totalling 75% of my salary! Would this order be enforceable in Holland? (by S of North Vancouver, BC)

My son's wife left him. He offered to leave and leave her with all the furniture, however she decided to leave. She has not looked for work in over a year. Yet they have been in a terrible financial situation. Will he have to pay support to her? (by K of Chilliwack, BC)

My boyfriend and I have been together for almost 7yrs. 3 out of those 7, we have lived together. He has been giving me money for over 6 yrs every month. Would I be able to get continued support from him for a certain amount of time legally? (by C of Vancouver, BC)

My husband and I separated 2 years ago. We had been together for about 14 years. At the time we lived in the interior but we moved to Vancouver so he could get a really good job. I can't get the kind of work I used to do in the interior, so I'm back at school. Can I get support from him? (by D of Vancouver, BC)

My ex wife may be looking for spousal support. I'm currently living with a woman who is very successful. Will her income become part of my total income? Is her income protected? (by D of Canoe, BC)

My husband and I were together for almost thirty years, married for the last twenty. I quit my teaching career path to move to the wilderness with him and raised three children while he worked. Should I not expect that he should give me more than two years of support after being with him for thirty years? (by J of Prince George, BC)

I have recently seperated from my husband and have started a new relationship. My ex found out about this new relationship is saying that he can take my children from me, refuse me sposal support and whatnot on the basis that he believes I had an affair during the marriage, is this true? (by J of Red Deer, AB)

I've tried and tried but I haven't been able to get a reliable job since my divorce. My spousal support Order required me to have found a job within two years. I don't believe my ex is going to be willing to keep helping me after the Order ends in two months. Can I get the Order changed?

You might very well be able to make an application to extend the period of your entitlement to support, providing that you can convince the court that your failure to become self-sufficient is a "material change" in your circumstances. Courts have found this to be the case in the past, but you should be prepared to show what efforts you've made to find work or if there is some other reason, like a medical problem, why you haven't been able to work.

My ex spouse is employed and working steady, as a bookkeeper for a CA group. Presently I'm pay interm spousal. Can apply to cancel? (by T of Castlegar, BC)

I have been separated for just over 2yrs. I was coerced into signing a separation agreement which I think is unfair. I am in dispute of the amount I pay in spousal support. I cannot pay the support I am supposed to, and my debt load increases by about $400 each month. Can you tell me what options I have? (by D of Kitimat, BC)

I understood that there was an obligation for the spouse to become independent. As the spouse in question is a nurse, working and 49 years old, and in good health, what can be done about a judgement made to support her until she is 60 years old? (by B of Campbell River, BC)

My husband has a court order to pay me spousal maintenance. I am getting re-married in a few weeks. We both agree he should no longer have to provide me with support. What do we have to do to terminate his court order? (by K of Vancouver, BC)

When my husband made a separation agreement with his ex-wife he agreed to pay a very large sum of money after 1 year of very large spousal support payments. Shortly after the divorce was final he became aware of several instances of infidelity on the part of his ex-wife. Will the court take this new information into consideration if my husband wanted to have the lump sum payment removed or reduced? (by R of Quesnel, BC)

I am in a common-law relationship and plan to divorce my ex and marry my partner. What are my future financial obligations to my ex-wife with regard to spousal support, when I retire, do the spousal payments end? (by M of Langley, BC)

My ex-wife gave birth to a child [years] years after our divorce. This child has developmental problems, increasing her economic need and preventing her from seeking work. Meanwhile, I have become unemployed, but still have moderate means, from savings accumulated after the divorce. What is the likelihood of success of my spousal support variation request? (by J of Vancouver, BC)

I have been paying spousal support to my ex common-law spouse for three years. Recently she had her current boyfriend move in with her. Am I still responsible for supporting her, and can I get the current spousal support arrangement changed without going back to court? (by K of Fort St. John, BC)

My husband stopped paying my support about ten years ago. I never bothered to go after him then because I had a decent job and didn't want the hassle. I've just retired and my retirement income really isn't enough for me to live comfortably. Can I ask for him to pay all the arrears that have accumulated since he stopped paying?

In all likelihood, the court will take a close look at why your husband stopped paying and also at why you haven't gone after him for the money earlier. There are cases where the sheer size of the debt which has accumulated will excuse a payor from being forced to pay the whole of the outstanding amount. In some cases, the courts have retroactively varied the support obligation back to when the arrears started accruing so that the amount outstanding is substantially smaller. Either way, depending on the financial circumstances of your husband, you are unlikley to obtain an Order for the whole of the arrears.

Can arrears be cancelled due to remarriage and lack of effort for retraining or self-sufficiency? (by S of Vancouver, BC)

I've just read about the Spousal Support Gudielines. I have a hearing next week about spousal support. Will the judge use the Guidelines? Are they a law?

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are not a law, and the court is not bound by them. The court may consider the Guidelines, and may use them as a reference, but whether the court will apply the Guidelines to the application I cannot say. Some judges use the Guidelines as no more than a handy yardstick, others tend to may more attention to the Guidelines results.

I'm in a same-sex relationship, but we're not married. Do the Spousal Support Gudielines apply to us?

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines apply to gay and lesbian relationships just as much as they do to straight relationships. They can also be used for unmarried as well as married relationship. Will they "apply" to you? It's hard to say whether the Guidelines will have any impact at all, since they're not a law and are only a "draft" and "advisory."

I am confused about the calculator, but maybe my case is special. We were married for 12 years but I have the kids. I am assuming I will have to pay spousal support and she would pay a little child support. Is there a calculation for this? (by P of Gibsons, BC)

How much weight is currently being given to this draft? My lawyer seems to be putting too much emphasis on it. My situation is we were together 15 yrs. and she was 51 on separation. My lawyer thinks 8 yrs. spousal support is good as the draft paper gives indefinite support. Are the courts using this draft, are people using them in negotiated settlements? (by S of Gibsons, BC)

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