It’s not uncommon for an individual who is obligated to pay spousal support to want to reduce or eliminate that obligation after he or she has entered into a new relationship. This is especially true if financial responsibility for that new, or “second” family arises. Does a Second Family Impact Entitlement or Quantum of Support …
Read MoreYes. In determining if there is an entitlement to spousal support, the court will consider (among other factors) the apportioning between spouses of the financial consequences which have arisen in consequence of the way in which they divided the childcare responsibility, pursuant to section 15.2(6) of the Divorce Act. If one spouse sacrificed his or …
Read MoreWhere marriage breakdown occurs, including the breakdown of a common-law relationship or a common-law partnership, a payment constitutes a support amount and is deductible if all the following criteria are met: the amount must be paid under an order of a competent tribunal or under a written agreement; however, please note that a court order …
Read MoreThe general rule is that for an amount to qualify as a support amount it must be paid directly to the recipient, and the recipient must have control over how the funds are spent. However, following a separation, it often happens that the person who was, during the marriage, responsible for the payment of certain …
Read MoreGenerally, after October 10, 2002, legal fees paid to obtain spousal support or an increase in spousal support amounts, to make child support nontaxable, or to collect late support payments may be deducted by the person who paid the fees. Similarly, legal fees paid to enforce child support orders are deductible. Finally, where a person …
Read MorePart Two of Spousal Support Issues This is the second of two blog posts on the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (“SSAGs”), their applications and shortcomings. Today, I comment on the use and abuse of the SSAGs in cases of payors in Ontario who earn more than $350,000 per year. Part II: High Income Earners The …
Read MoreSpousal Support advisory guidelines Part One The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs) were finalized in 2008. They have been widely accepted in Ontario and endorsed by our Court of Appeal. As evidenced by a recently released January 2012 Department of Justice survey, the SSAGs are working well in Ontario: Key informants noted that the [guidelines] …
Read MoreAlthough a marriage definitively ends when a divorce is granted, a Toronto divorce lawyer will inform you that the process surrounding divorce is complex and interconnected. Similarly, spousal support may be a compound course. Receiving an order for spousal support or reaching a monetary agreement is only one step. The next step is the enforcement …
Read MoreSpousal Support: the basics The first important point about spousal support is that it is gender-neutral. Husbands and wives can pay and receive spousal support, and do so every day in our court system. Spousal support can be determined by agreement or by court order. Before you come to any agreement about support, you need …
Read MoreSpousal Support: The Details Why spousal support? Spousal support in Ontario is premised on the view of a marriage as a financial partnership. When that partnership ends, the person with the greater income may have an obligation to pay the spouse with the lesser income. However, the law assumes that all individuals seek to be …
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