Worried about your spousal support or alimony payment?
Whether you’re the payor or the payee, alimony causes a lot of stress. It is one of the most hotly contested issues in most divorce cases.
Fortunately, our team comes armed with solutions. Tell us what’s most important to you, and we’ll discuss options for getting your needs met, within the realistic bounds allowed by Canadian divorce law. Sophisticated legal solutions are available as points of negotiation, and can make spousal support less of a burden.
Our team has been highly successful at negotiating alimony arrangements that are fair and reasonable for both parties. We are very familiar with the issues that can make spousal support unworkable for payees, and work to handle those issues so that spousal support payments don’t become a persistent, long term issue for both parties in the divorce.
Who can make a claim for spousal support?
Theoretically, either partner may make a claim for spousal support, but they must have grounds for the claim. There are three grounds that may be used.
The first are compensatory grounds. This is to compensate spouses who might suffer or lose opportunities as the result of the marriage breakdown. The second is contractual support—support that is awarded as the result of a prenuptial agreement. Finally, there is needs-based support: support awarded when one spouse has a demonstrable financial need and the other spouse has the ability to pay.
When making decisions about spousal support, it will be important to first decide whether either spouse even has a claim. Then, and only then, will it be time to have conversations about support duration and amounts.
Can you get out of paying spousal support altogether? Possibly, but if your spouse has grounds for a claim it’s usually better to think about how you’re going to get a fair deal than it is to think about how you’re going to get out of paying altogether.
How long does spousal support last?
Spousal support typically lasts ½ to 1 year for every year of marriage. So if you were married for 10 years, spousal support typically would last 5 to 10 years.
There are formulas that can result in a “lifetime” support award, but they are generally only applicable in “gray” divorces where the spouses have been married for decades and when one spouse has spent all of those decades as the homemaker.
What determines how much spousal support gets paid?
Spousal support is, in fact, always negotiable. Unlike child support, there are no federal or provincial tables which demand that a certain amount of support be paid. However, if a divorce gets pushed to trial the judge may still award spousal support, and will likely use the Federal Spousal Support guidelines to do so.
These guidelines run off a number of complex formulae, and there are different formulae depending on whether or not you have minor children and are paying child support.
Usually, we run the formula through a software program and use that as the starting point for negotiations.
How is spousal support enforced in British Columbia?
Spousal support is enforced through the British Columbia Maintenance Enforcement Program. Once you have a court order for spousal support it’s added to your child support and treated as one single “maintenance” payment.
If you fail to pay maintenance BCMEP has a variety of remedies it can use against you, from taking the money directly out of your paycheck, to suspending your driver’s license or passport, to seeking jail time to force you to pay. This is one reason why it’s so important to make sure that your sposual support arrangements are arrangements you can live with for as long as you’ll be required to pay support.
It’s possible to modify support orders if your circumstances changes, and we can help with that. However, few divorcees want to return to court multiple times. If possible, it’s best to get the arrangements right the first time.
What are the alternatives to paying spousal support?
There are many ways that we can negotiate spousal support that are less painful than writing a monthly check.
One popular option is to offer a lump sum payment. This is good both for the payor and the payee. The payor writes one check and never has to think about spousal support ever again. The payee never has to worry about enforcement again, but gets the money they need to get on their feet after the divorce.
Another option may be to offer an income-creating asset instead, such as a rental property or an investment account, or to offer a greater share of the assets.
Finally, there are ways that we can adjust both the amount and duration of support. For example perhaps your spouse would only be entitled to 7 years of support normally. If reducing the amount of time is important to you, you could offer a higher monthly amount for three and a half years instead. If reducing the monthly amount is important to you, you could perhaps offer to spread smaller payments out over twelve years instead.
Our goal will be to help you negotiate a workable arrangement. Prior to your divorce it’s a good idea to think about your goals, and to share them with us when you sit down with us. This will help us draft settlement terms that will support your long-term needs.
Get Help With Your Spousal Support Negotiations
Our team of highly skilled, experienced, dedicated divorce lawyers have helped thousands of British Columbia residents navigate difficult spousal support issues.
It takes a tough litigator and a savvy negotiator to get best results; everyone on our team is both. We help high net worth earners, farmers, business owners, entrepreneurs, innovators, independent contractors and other smart people negotiate divorce settlements they can live with.
If you are worried about spousal support, reach out to us. Call 1-604-394-7777 to set up your first appointment today.