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Difference between revisions of "Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Introduction to Family Law in British Columbia (view source)
Revision as of 13:59, 12 May 2013
, 13:59, 12 May 2013→Spousal support
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==Spousal support== | ==Spousal support== | ||
Spousal support is money paid by one spouse to the other | Spousal support is money paid by one spouse to the other for one of two reasons. Spousal support may be paid to help the other spouse meet his or her living expenses, or it may be paid to compensate a spouses for the economic consequences of the decisions made during the relationship. Spousal support is not automatically payable just because a couple were in a married or unmarried spousal relationship; the person who needs support must prove that he or she is entitled to get support. | ||
The decisions made by a couple during their relationship can cause a spouse to be entitled to compensation if those decisions took the spouse out of the paid workforce, required them to move to a place where there was less financial opportunity, prevented the spouse from taking a promotion or have made it more difficult for the spouse to get a job after separation. Say, for example, a couple decided that one of them should quit work and stay at home to raise the children and be a homemaker. A spouse who stays at home may have to leave a job or a career, and it can be very difficult to return to work after being out of the workforce, particularly when the relationship was long and there is no career to return to. | |||
The end of a relationship can cause | The end of a relationship can cause a spouse to need financial help. After a couple separate, the same amount of money they had during the relationship now has to pay for two rent bills, two hydro bills and two grocery bills. When the couple were together, however, their combined incomes only had to pay for one rent <span class="noglossary">bill</span>, one hydro <span class="noglossary">bill</span> and one phone <span class="noglossary">bill</span>. | ||
Spousal support is usually paid every month, although it can be paid in a large, single payment. The amount of spousal support that should be paid is usually an amount that the person with more money can afford to pay, using the money left over after that person's basic living expenses have been paid. | Spousal support is usually paid every month, although it can be paid in a large, single payment. The amount of spousal support that should be paid is usually an amount that the person with more money can afford to pay, using the money left over after that person's basic living expenses have been paid. | ||
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*The Advisory Guidelines is not a law and there is no rule saying that the Advisory Guidelines formulas must be used. Despite this, lawyers and the court use the Advisory Guidelines almost all the time when spousal support is going to be paid. | *The Advisory Guidelines is not a law and there is no rule saying that the Advisory Guidelines formulas must be used. Despite this, lawyers and the court use the Advisory Guidelines almost all the time when spousal support is going to be paid. | ||
*The Advisory Guidelines is only used when someone is proven to be entitled to receive support; if there is no entitlement, the Advisory Guidelines | *The Advisory Guidelines is only used when someone is proven to be entitled to receive support; if there is no entitlement, the Advisory Guidelines doesn't apply. | ||
*The formulas the Advisory Guidelines describes are very complicated. In particular, the formulas that are used when a couple has children cannot be done without a computer program. | *The formulas the Advisory Guidelines describes are very complicated. In particular, the formulas that are used when a couple has children cannot be done without a computer program. | ||
