How much support and for how long?
The amount of support a partner gets and how long they get it for, depends on things like:
- how long they were together,
- if there are children and who is taking care of them,
- each partner’s role during the relationship,
- each partner’s age, and
- each partner’s financial situation.
The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAGs) are often used by lawyers and judges to help decide spousal support.
There is also a spousal support calculator at mysupportcalculator.ca.
Some agreements or court orders set a date when support payments will end or be reviewed. If there is no end date, support continues unless the agreement or order is changed.
Spousal support does not automatically end if the partner getting support remarries or starts living with someone else.
Retroactive support
It is sometimes possible to get spousal support for a period of time before the application for support was made.
Partner on income assistance
In most cases, a partner on income assistance must try to get any spousal support they might have a right to. If they do not make reasonable efforts, they may get less income assistance or none at all.
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