How Do You Whether You’re Paying Too Much or You’re Not Getting Enough Spousal Support?

How Do You Whether You’re Paying Too Much or You’re Not Getting Enough Spousal Support?

How would you feel knowing that you can actually figure out whether your ex-spouse’s proposed separation agreement or divorce settlement is fair?

You would feel pretty good…I think.

I will discuss the thorny issue of spousal support in this video.

Hi, my name is Thomas O’Malley.  I’m an experienced family lawyer in Durham Region and the GTA.

Please remember to like this video and subscribe to my Youtube channel if you have not done so already.

 If one spouse earns a lot more money than the other spouse, the higher-income spouse will usually pay some spousal support to the lower-income spouse, especially when the spouses have been married or in a common-law relationship of five years or longer.

You need to make sure that your former spouse is imputed with income or given an income for calculating the right amount of spousal support if your spouse is really earning less income than they are capable of making.

You certainly need to review the amounts of spousal support that are generated in a Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines calculation. 

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (also called SSAG) sets out the amount of spousal support you need to pay based on the facts of your case.

You need to set out in this calculation your gross annual income, your spouse’s gross annual income, your age, your spouse’s age, the number of children in your family and their ages.

The SSAG uses a “with child support” and “without child support” formulas.  The amounts of monthly spousal support are lower when you are paying child support with the use of the “with child support” formula.

In contrast, the amounts of monthly spousal support are higher when you use the “without child support” formula compared to the “with child support” formula.

The SSAG generates the amount of spousal support payable on the low end, a mid-point or middle figure and the high end. 

You use the high-end figure usually when you have been married or in a common-law relationship for 15 year or longer and the lower-income spouse is 50 years of age or older.

You use the middle-point figure when the spouses have been married for 8 or 9 years or more but less than 15 or 16 years in length.

You use the lower-end figure when the spouses have only been married for 8 or 9 years or less.

The SSAG also produces a recommend period of time that a spouse must pay spousal support based on the ages of the spouses, the ages of the children, if any, and the length of the marriage or common-law relationship.

You need to carefully review the SSAG calculations with your family lawyer to see what is fair and reasonable in your particular case.

I will review the property issues that must be covered in a proposed separation agreement or divorce settlement in the next video.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, feel free to contact on my Facebook law office page, that’s O’Malley Family Law, or call me at 905-434-8837 and I’ll point in you in the right direction. 

Click here to join my free Facebook GTA and Durham Region separation and divorce support group: GTA and Durham Region Separation and Divorce Support Group

Please make sure to share this important information and video with your friends, family members and co-workers so that it helps more people avoid serious problems in their separation or divorce before it’s too late.