How long do you have to pay spousal support anyway?


Simply put, spousal support is the support you pay or receive from your spouse upon breakdown of your common law relationship or marriage with that person.

For how long you will receive or pay spousal support depends upon a number of factors:
(a) Length of relationship or marriage;
(b) Age of the spouse receiving the support;
(c) Age of youngest child;
(d) Education level of the spouse receiving the support;
(e) Work history of the spouse receiving the support;
(f) Financial means of both you and your former spouse;
(g) Roles and functions each of you and your spouse performed during the relationship/marriage;
(h) What are the needs of the recipient spouse to achieve financial self-sufficiency such as extra training or education

This list is not intended to be exhaustive and other facts may come into play such as the health of the recipient or even the payor spouse. The introduction of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines in 2008 was to give some predictability to court decisions governing the duration of spousal support by applying mathematical formulas based upon prior court decisions on this issue.

If you or a loved one is in a relationship and you wonder how long you may have to pay or be entitled to receive spousal support, timely legal advice and representation can be had by contacting Vancouver and Burnaby spousal support family law lawyer Andrew Rebane at Resolutions Law Corporation, [email protected] or 778-372-7107