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Difference between revisions of "Spousal Support"
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→An introduction to spousal support
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Spousal support is paid for one of two reasons: to help the recipient get by as a single person without the benefit of the payor's income and other household contributions; or to compensate the recipient for financial decisions made by the spouses during their relationship. | Spousal support is paid for one of two reasons: to help the recipient get by as a single person without the benefit of the payor's income and other household contributions; or to compensate the recipient for financial decisions made by the spouses during their relationship. | ||
No matter if one spouse was working during the relationship or both worked, the fact is that during the relationship there was only one mortgage payment to make, only one hydro bill and only one cable bill. After the relationship ends, there are two rent payments, two hydro bills and two sets of groceries to buy, all of which must be paid out of the same pool of income that supported the family before separation. | No matter if one spouse was working during the relationship or both worked, the fact is that during the relationship there was only one mortgage payment to make, only one hydro bill and only one cable <span class="noglossary">bill</span>. After the relationship ends, there are two rent payments, two hydro bills and two sets of groceries to buy, all of which must be paid out of the same pool of income that supported the family before separation. | ||
To be clear, however, a spousal relationship, whether married or unmarried, does not in itself establish a right to life-long support. When a spousal relationship ends, each party needs to become financially independent and self-sufficient as soon as possible. As the judge said in the 1997 Supreme Court case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1f4h7 Dumais-Koski v. Koski]'', 1997 CanLII 3816 (BCSC) "marriage is not a legal institution created for the redistribution of wealth." Or, as the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench put it in the 2005 case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1pvt2 V.S. v. A.K.]'', 2005 ABQB 754: | To be clear, however, a spousal relationship, whether married or unmarried, does not in itself establish a right to life-long support. When a spousal relationship ends, each party needs to become financially independent and self-sufficient as soon as possible. As the judge said in the 1997 Supreme Court case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1f4h7 Dumais-Koski v. Koski]'', 1997 CanLII 3816 (BCSC) "marriage is not a legal institution created for the redistribution of wealth." Or, as the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench put it in the 2005 case of ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1pvt2 V.S. v. A.K.]'', 2005 ABQB 754: | ||