Spousal Support
Factors Affecting Spousal Support
Factors affecting the amount and duration of spousal support:
Length of marriage;
Roles of each party in the marriage;
Age;
Income & earning capacity;
Ability to become self sufficient;
Length of time out of work;
Budgets;
Education, training and work experience;
Children’s ages;
Lifestyles;
Health;
Parenting;
Job security;
Agreements (prenuptials and marriage contracts);
Types of Spousal Support
The Supreme Court of Canada has set out three categories of entitlement to spousal support:
1. Contractual spousal support is support that parties are to in a contract such as in a prenuptial or separation agreement.
2. Compensatory spousal support is typically awarded in circumstances when one party faces an economic disadvantage caused by the breakdown of marriage as a result of homemaking and child-rearing responsibilities during the marriage.
3. Non-compensatory spousal support is needs-based support. This type of support acknowledges that married couples often become economically interdependent, and after a marriage breakdown, one spouse may require support from the other to continue to meet their basic needs.
Applicable Legislation
There are two pieces of legislation that may govern spousal support in Alberta:
1. The Divorce Act of Canada; and
The Family Law Act of Alberta.
The Divorce Act is federal legislation that applies if you were married and are now divorcing. It provides that spousal support is payable in certain circumstances.
There are three main considerations:
1. Is there entitlement to spousal support in this circumstance?
2. If there is entitlement, how much support is payable?
3. How long is support payable?
The Family Law Act is provincial legislation that govern spousal support. It may apply to both married and unmarried persons (adult interdependent partner).
You are an adult interdependent partner (AIP) if:
1. You lived with another person in a relationship of interdependence:
a. For a continuous period of not less than 3 years; or,
b. Of some permanence, if there is a child of the relationship by birth or adoption,
c. The person has entered into an adult interdependent partner agreement with the other person in accordance with the legislation.
Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG)
Alberta Courts often use the federal Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines to determine how much support will be paid by taking into consideration the gross income of each spouse, the number of years the couple lived together, and any childcare expenses.
SSAG is not binding by legislation, but they have value in providing some uniform guidelines for spousal support. There are three ranges of spousal support figures provided by the SSAG formula: low, mid and high range. The difference between low and high range may be hundreds or thousands of dollars per month. Various factors can influence the range of spousal support payable. In some cases, the SSAG guideline provide little value in determining spousal support such as when one party lives in a different country or when the duration of marriage is short.
Retroactive Spousal Support
An order for spousal support in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties may be made retroactive to the date of filing the notice of motion or order to show cause, or to any subsequent date. You may have a claim for retroactive spousal support if your ex-spouse did not pay from the date of separation.