What is spousal support for?

The purposes of spousal support are to:

• recognize a spouse's contributions to the relationship
• share the financial costs of caring for a child
• relieve financial hardship
• help a spouse become able to contribute to his or her own support
• correct any economic advantage or disadvantage to a spouse caused by the relationship or the relationship breakdown. For example, if a spouse gave up their job to care for the children, they may not be able to become self-supporting right away.

In most situations, spouses are expected to try to become self-supporting as soon as possible.