Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines-What You Need to Know About Them!

Spousal Support Guidelines-What You Need To Know About Them!

What is one of the important things that determines how much spousal support you have to pay to your spouse or determines how spousal support you get in Ontario?

It’s no secret that spousal support is one of the toughest issues to deal with in your separation or divorce.

One of the most important things you have to know about are the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines.

It’s called SSAG for short.

The SSAG is a software program that produces a range of spousal support that is payable in any particular situation based on a series of factors.

First, let me tell you why it’s important to pay attention to the SSAG.  The family court in Ontario puts a lot of weight in the results of the SSAG.  The family court usually enforces the results generated from a SSAG calculation.

The SSAG will product a range of spousal support payable in any particular case with a low end figure, a middle amount of spousal support, and a high figure for spousal support.

What factors does the SSAG use to calculate spousal support in a separation or divorce?  You must input the total income of the husband, the total income of the wife, the age of each spouse, the length of the marriage or common-law relationship, and the number of children and their ages.

In fact, the SSAG uses a without child support formula and with child support formula to calculate the range of spousal support in a case.

If one spouse is paying child support to the other spouse, this important fact will reduce the amount of spousal support paid to a spouse.  If there is no child support paid to a spouse, then a spouse would pay a higher amount of spousal support in this situation.

When spouses or parents have shared custody of their children which means that the children live with each parent for half of the time, for example, this important fact will make a difference in the amount of spousal support paid.

Let’s look at an example of a SSAG calculation.  The SSAG could produce a low end figure of $1200 payable a month, a middle figure of $1600 a month, and a high end figure of $1900 a month in a particular case.

How do you know which figure to use?  Often the family court will use a figure that matches up with the length of the marriage or common-law relationship.  A spouse will likely have to pay spousal support on the low end of the range when the marriage or relationship is shorter than 6 or 7 years in length.  A spouse could pay the amount produced as the middle figure when the marriage or relationship is 7 to 15 years in length.  A spouse could pay spousal support on the high end of the range when the marriage or relationship is fairly long, such as 15, 20 years or more in length.

The SSAG also suggests how long a spouse should pay spousal support to the other spouse based on the ages of the spouses and the length of the relationship.

You should carefully review the important issue of spousal support with your family lawyer.  Your family lawyer will usually provide a SSAG calculation to you based on the facts in your

situation that shows the possible amount of spousal support payable in your situation.

Make sure you spend some time with your family lawyer discussing this important issue in your separation or divorce.

If you have any questions about your separation, divorce or family law case and you would like our help, there’s a few ways to contact our office.  You can leave a message on my Facebook law office page or call me directly at 905-434-8837.  We would be happy to speak to you.

Oh, by the way, did you know you can protect your family law rights and get essential information on settling your family law issues with your former spouse with the daily indispensable family law advice and tips at my FREE Facebook group?

Go here for more information: Durham Region Separation and Divorce Legal Support Group