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Difference between revisions of "Basic Principles of Spousal Support"
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Basic Principles of Spousal Support (view source)
Revision as of 19:39, 17 March 2013
, 19:39, 17 March 2013→Introduction
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In other words, like the ''Divorce Act'', the court cannot consider misconduct in relation to the relationship, but the court can look at the parties' behaviour after they separate, and whether the recipient is doing the things that need to be done to become economically self-sufficient or the payor is doing things that undermine his or her ability to pay support. | In other words, like the ''Divorce Act'', the court cannot consider misconduct in relation to the relationship, but the court can look at the parties' behaviour after they separate, and whether the recipient is doing the things that need to be done to become economically self-sufficient or the payor is doing things that undermine his or her ability to pay support. | ||
===Securing a Spousal Support Obligation=== | |||
Under s. 170 of the ''Family Law Act'', the court may make a number of additional orders when it is making an order for spousal support which can help to ensure that spousal support continues to be paid, including after the death of the payor. The court may: | |||
#order that a charge be registered against property; | |||
#require a payor with life insurance to maintain that policy and specify that a spouse will be the beneficiary or the policy; or, | |||
#order that spousal support continue to be paid after the payor's death and be paid from his or her estate. | |||
Before the court makes an order that requires spousal support to be paid from the payor's estate, under s. 171(1), the court must consider: | |||
#whether the recipient's need for support will survive the payor's death; | |||
#whether the payor's estate is sufficient to meet the recipient's needs, taking into account the interests of the people who stand to inherit from the payor's estate and the creditors entitled to be paid from the payor's estate; and, | |||
#whether any other means exist to meet the recipient's needs. | |||
===Spousal Support When the Payor Dies=== | |||
When a payor dies, the recipient can apply to court for an order under s. 171(3)(b) of the ''Family Law Act'' that the payor's support obligation will continue and be paid from his or her estate. | |||
When a recipient applies to continue a support obligation or if a support order says that the obligation will continue past the payor's death, the payor's ''personal representative'', the person managing the payor's estate and will, has the right to defend the recipient's application or to vary or terminate a continuing obligation. | |||
==The Objectives and Factors of Spousal Support== | ==The Objectives and Factors of Spousal Support== | ||