Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19 by Brianne Beckie, Student-at-Law at the MacLean Law Calgary office.
Are you recently separated and struggling to make ends meet during these difficult and unprecedented times? Are you in desperate need of immediate support from your former partner? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘non-essential’ businesses have closed their doors and countless workers have been laid off or have lost their jobs. This has led to the inability of many to cover their monthly expenses, such as rent and mortgage payments. It also means support payments can be negatively affected. In today’s blog, we focus on Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19. remember, all 6 MacLean law offices are open to helping our clients resolve spousal support issues by negotiation, mediation, arbitration and in the courtroom.
Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19 1 877 602 9900
In Alberta, the courts are effectively closed except for urgent applications which our offices are successfully obtaining and it is unknown how long they will continue to be closed. The Provincial Court of Alberta and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta are only hearing emergency and urgent matters at this time. Similar court availability issues are occurring in the BC family courts. Non-urgent family law matters in Provincial Court have been postponed by at least ten weeks and those in the Court of Queen’s Bench have been postponed indefinitely. Emergency family law matters in the Court of Queen’s Bench are limited to those matters “in which serious consequences to persons or harm to property may arise if the hearing does not proceed, or if there is a risk of loss of jurisdiction or expiration of existing protection or restraining order, including, but not limited to:
- Orders where there is a risk of violence or immediate harm to one of the parties or a child.
- Orders where there is a risk of removal of a child from the jurisdiction.
- Emergency Protection Order reviews.” (emphasis added) (https://www.albertacourts.ca/qb/court-operations-schedules/pandemic-operations)
Consult our Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19 lawyers to determine whether or not your matter may be heard on an emergency or urgent basis. 1 877 602 9900
If your matter will not be heard while the Alberta and BC courts are effectively closed except on urgent matters, there are other ways of Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19. A spousal support dispute can be resolved through informal settlement discussions with your former partner and/or mediation-arbitration, among other ways.
- Settlement Discussions: You may choose to try to resolve your spousal support dispute through informal settlement discussions. These discussions can occur with or without the assistance of counsel and can occur via email, telephone or video conference. You and your former partner can agree on a quantum of spousal support, by using the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines or by referencing your monthly budgets. But the spousal support calculations are tricky and only as good as the accuracy of the paying and receiving spouse’s incomes. You can’t just guess or pick a number out of thin air. You need the assistance of our skilled Calgary spousal support lawyers in Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19. All of our offices across Bc and in downtown Calgary Alberta are working fulltime to help our clients.
Calgary Support Lawyers Can Help
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the need of the payee (recipient of spousal support) for financial support may be greater and the ability of the payor (payer of spousal support) may be diminished due to widespread layoffs and business closures. However, these circumstances will likely not be permanent. Therefore, if you are the payee (recipient), consider negotiating a temporary quantum of spousal support that is reasonable in the circumstances, even if this amount is less than what your entitlement to support would have been had COVID-19 not emerged. This is particularly relevant if previous attempts at resolution have been unsuccessful. Consider ONLY accepting a reduced amount of spousal support on a short-term and *without prejudice basis until the courts have returned to normal operations or until attending mediation-arbitration (see below). The rationale for accepting a reduced amount of spousal support is that “something is better than nothing” in the short-term. Even a lesser amount can go toward paying your bills during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Mediation-Arbitration: If you cannot resolve your spousal support dispute on your own (or with the assistance of counsel), then you may decide to retain a third party if you and your former partner agree to do so. Mediation-arbitrations have continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They are generally being conducted by way of video conference as a result of the social distancing guidelines. This procedure is useful in Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19.
A mediator can help you and your former partner reach an agreement on one or more of the issues. A mediator-arbitrator can also help you resolve one or more issues, but if you are unable to reach an agreement, the mediator-arbitrator – acting in his or her capacity as arbitrator – will decide on the issues which could not be resolved through the mediation process. The arbitrator’s decisions regarding spousal support and other issues are binding. These decisions may be temporary or final, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Contact MacLean Law today to schedule a consultation. Our Resolving Spousal Support Disputes During COVID-19 lawyers are experts at navigating the new legal landscape which has come about as a result of COVID-19. Our team of lawyers can explain how support works for you.
*Without prejudice means, in this case, that the terms of the spousal support agreement will not find their way into a court proceeding by way of an affidavit or another form of evidence.
