BC Spousal Support Entitlement Lawyers focus on the three ways spousal support can be awarded to a spouse after separation. In BC spousal support can be payable on separation for married couples and unmarried couples who are in a marriage like relationship for more than 2 years duration or even less if they have a child born of their relationship if it is one of some permanence. The recent decision August 2017 BCSC decision of Stringer v Stringer provides a nice summary of how entitlement to support is assessed. BC Spousal Support Entitlement Lawyers know that the spouse must first prove they are entitled to support before any amount also called “quantum” of support can ordered to be paid.
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In Stringer the court approved of the following summary of law on entitlement:
[71] The bases on which a spouse may be entitled to an award of spousal support are compensatory, non-compensatory, and contractual. They are discussed in Yeung v. Silva, 2016 BCSC 1682, where Dardi J. summarized the current law governing spousal support as follows at paras. 16-20:
[16] Section15.2 of the Divorce Act provides the legislative framework for ordering spousal support in this case. In determining a claimant’s entitlement to support, this court must also apply the conceptual framework formulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Moge v. Moge, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 813 and Bracklow v. Bracklow, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 420. In its analysis, the court must consider the four objectives set out in s. 15.2(6) of the Divorce Act:
15.2(6) An order made under subsection (1) or an interim order under subsection (2) that provides for the support of a spouse should
(a) recognize any economic advantages or disadvantages to the spouses arising from the marriage or its breakdown;
(b) apportion between the spouses any financial consequences arising from the care of any child of the marriage over and above any obligation for the support of any child of the marriage;
(c) relieve any economic hardship of the spouses arising from the breakdown of the marriage; and
(d) in so far as practicable, promote the economic self-sufficiency of each spouse within a reasonable period of time.
[17] All of the objectives are to be taken into account.
[18] Section 15.2(4) of the Divorce Act further provides that the court must, in its analysis of a claim for spousal support, consider the condition, means, needs, and other circumstances of each spouse, including the length of time the spouses cohabited and the functions performed by each spouse during cohabitation.
Three Models Used By BC Spousal Support Entitlement Lawyers
[19] There are three conceptual models for determining entitlement to spousal support: compensatory, non-compensatory, and contractual. The authorities establish that these models are not mutually exclusive and there is no single basis of support or objective under the Divorce Act that supersedes another. While there may be more than one basis for a spouse’s entitlement to support, the award is single and indivisible: Zacharias v. Zacharias, 2015 BCCA 376 at para. 39. The basis for spousal support, being contractual, compensatory or needs-based, or a combination thereof, will impact the quantum and duration of an award: A.K. v. N.K., 2012 BCSC 1499 at para. 115; T.N. v. J.C.N., 2015 BCSC 439 at para. 144.
[20] The fundamental underpinning for an order of spousal support is the doctrine of equitable sharing of the economic consequences of marriage and marriage breakdown: Chutter v. Chutter, 2008 BCCA 507 at para. 49.
Compensatory Support BC Spousal Support Entitlement Lawyers
[72] In regards to compensatory support, the Court in Pendleton v. Pendleton, 2010 BCSC 1167 said the following at para. 41:
[41] Compensatory support is intended to address both economic disadvantages suffered by the recipient and economic advantages enjoyed by the payor (see Chutter at para. 51). In part because it is difficult to associate decisions taken during the marriage to particular advantages or disadvantages, and in part because it may be a useful indicator of those advantages and disadvantages, courts have looked to post-separation standards of living and compared it to pre-separation standards of living, with a view to determining whether there has been significant economic advantage or disadvantage as a result of the breakdown of the marriage (see generally W. v. W., 2005 BCSC 1010 at para. 12). In doing so, it is necessary to bear in mind that the standard of living of both households will likely suffer as a result of the separation because of the increased cost of maintaining two households on the same or nearly the same income.
Our Top Choice Award winning BC Spousal Support Entitlement Lawyers at MacLean Law look forward to helping you resolve your spousal support entitlement, quantum and duration issues.
