MacLean Law sets the highest High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support awards payable by men and women. Yes our Maclean Law Vancouver, BC and Calgary UHNW High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support lawyers set the highest records for support obtained by both men to women and vice versa. Our wins are famous at $100,000 a month for a woman and $30,000 a month for a man who is a professional earning $400,000 from a wife who earned millions more.
High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support cases are often “bet the bank” and “I’m all in” disputes. Seeking tens of thousands of dollars a month or defending against such a huge claim is stressful and you need to ensure your “ducks are in a row”. It makes sense to hire a seasoned family lawyer with a proven record for winning these High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support disputes. MacLean Law’s lawyers have set records for interim and permanent spousal support wins and you can meet with our winning family lawyers across Canada. In today’s blog Lorne MacLean KC explains high net worth interim support cases.
Best High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support Lawyers Tips 604 602 9000
Our Devathasan v Devathasan win in 2017 set the record for highest interim spousal support at over $83,000 a month plus $21,000 a month for 1 child.
The test to be applied in deciding whether interim spousal support should be ordered was set out in Robles v. Kuhn, 2009 BCSC 1163, cited with approval in Devathasan v. Devathasan, 2017 BCSC 1010, as follows:
1. On applications for interim support the applicant’s needs and the respondent’s ability to pay assume greater significance: Gibb v. Gibb, [2005] B.C.J. No. 2730 (S.C.);
2. An interim support order should be sufficient to allow the applicant to continue living at the same standard of living enjoyed prior to separation if the payor’s ability to pay warrants it: Grossi v. Grossi, [1993] B.C.J. No. 878 (S.C.);
3. On interim support applications the court does not embark on an in-depth analysis of the parties’ circumstances which is better left to trial. The court achieves rough justice at best: Randhawa v. Randhawa, [1999] B.C.J. No. 3299; Newson v. Newson, 1998 CanLII 6440 (BC CA), [1998] B.C.J. No. 2906, 65 B.C.L.R. (3d) 22 (C.A.);
4. The courts should not unduly emphasise any one of the statutory considerations above others;
5. On interim applications the need to achieve economic self-sufficiency is often of less significance;
6. Interim support should be ordered within the range suggested by the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines unless exceptional circumstances indicate otherwise: Ladd v. Ladd, [2006] B.C.J. No. 1930, 2006 BCSC 1280 (S.C.);
7. Interim support should only be ordered where it can be said a prima facie case for entitlement has been made out: LG.B. v. M.A.C.M., [2005] B.C.J. No. 2966, 2005 BCSC 1786 (S.C.);
8. Where there is a need to resolve contested issues of fact, especially those connected with a threshold issue, such as entitlement, it becomes less advisable to order interim support: L.G.B.
After citing those considerations, Fitzpatrick J. added the following observations applicable in situations such as this where the payor’s income exceeds the prescribed ceiling:
[140] I am aware of the principles applicable to determining interim spousal support above the “ceiling” of $350,000, as set out in the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (“SSAG”); the matter is highly discretionary; the SSAG formulas are not to be automatically applied where the income levels are above that figure; the ceiling is not a hard “cap”; and, what is required is to apply an individualized, fact-specific analysis.
[141] The authors of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines: The Revised User’s Guide (April 2016), in Chapter 11(b), describe the outcomes in cases involving high earners as “divergent and unpredictable”. That certainly appears to be the case …
How Does Spousal Support Work? 1 877 602 9900.
How do lawyers and judges deal with spousal support on a pretrial (interim) and post trial (permanent) basis in High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support disputes? Since 2005 the federal government has directed lawyers and judges to seriously consider a set of calculations designed to enable a range of settlement or court ordered options that while said to be not binding most often are. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are not law. However, judges often base their decisions about spousal support and High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support dispputes on the guidelines. Many family lawyers also use the guideline when helping clients to make decisions and set up spousal support agreements out of court.
High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support 1 877 602 9900.
Judges have routinely used SSAG guidelines to help them decide interim spousal support cases. So, what happens in the rarified atmosphere of the top 1 percent of income earning cases? The guidelines speak of a $350,000 ceiling but this ceiling is not a hard “limit” on support – rather It is merely a starting point for the court to make its determination taking into account the lifestyles of the spouses and fairness when handling High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support cases.
In MacLean Law’s precedent setting record interim support win of Devathasan v. Devathasan, 2017 BCSC 1010 at paras. 140 to 149, the court applied the SSAGs to award interim mid-range spousal support to the recipient of $63,000 to nearly $70,000 to a wife who already had an income of $275,000 a year based on the payor’s [conservatively calculated] income of approximately $2.8 million. At trial, it was determined that this amount was too low, and it was ordered that the recipient be paid $100,000 per month for the period covered by the interim order. These are monthly figures not annual!!!!!
See paragraphs 127- 149 where court awarded full retroactive support using husband’s conservative income being $63,000 to $69,000 a month spousal support fully retroactive but once true higher income was proven at court our client’s spousal amount increased to $100,000 a month spousal retroactively for interim period.
Other high net worth wins we obtained for our delighted clients include one involving a professional practice in ARJ v ZJ and JP V AP where the husband’s salary was capped and support paid on that figure while any excess profits were kept within the family’s manufacturing company.
For another recent case that applied our arguments that was still high net worth but where the result was more modest see Bradley v Callahan a 17 year marriage, where interim spousal support of $60,000 a month and child support for 2 adult children at $24,000 appeal dismissed. Bradley v. Callahan, 2021 BCCA 452 (CanLII)
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The following SSAG Revised User Guide 2016 Interim Support extract mandates that the guidelines do apply to interim pretrial support cases as follows:
In D.R.M. v. R.B.M., 2006 BCSC 1921, Justice Martinson set out in detail the rationale for the application of the Advisory Guidelines to interim spousal support orders, concluding:
[19] They are a useful tool to have when determining interim spousal support. By focusing on income differences, they provide a helpful measure of needs and means. Their use is consistent with the purposes of interim orders: to bridge the gap between the start of the litigation and the time when a resolution is reached at trial or by agreement; to avoid lengthy and costly interim litigation; to move the litigation to a timely resolution; and to reduce conflict
Interim Support Incomes over $350,000 referred to in Devathasan above and Revised User Guide SSAG 2016 604 602 9000
Most lawyers think that high income cases will result in a significant downward departure from the amounts awarded monthly. While this is true in many cases, the best family law lawyers will argue for the “full meal deal” being a full application of the guidelines just as we successfully did in Devathasan.
Our win in Devathasan is the “gold standard” across Canada for large awards. 1 877 602 9900.
However the authors of the SSAG noted some full meal deal interim support awards:
- Even in cases far above the ceiling [of $350,000 for a paying spouse], however, some courts have fixed amounts within the SSAG range for high incomes:
- Saunders v. Saunders, ($1 million, high SSAG, income estimate low);
- J.E.H. v. P.L.H., ($1 million, mid-SSAG);
- B.L.B. v. G.D.M., 2015 PESC 1 ($1,069,724, low SSAG);
- Blatherwick v. Blatherwick, 2015 ONSC 2606 ($1.4 million, high SSAG);
- T.N. v. J.C.N., 2015 BCSC 439 ($982,626);
- Williams v. Williams, 2015 BCSC 112 ($1.2 million, mid-SSAG): K.R.M. v. F.B.M.,
- 2013 BCSC 286 ($895,898, high SSAG);
- Elgner v. Elgner, [2009] O.J. No. 5369 (S.C.J., leave to appeal denied, 2010 ONSC 1578 (Div.Ct.) ($2.9 million, low SSAG);
- Loesch v. Walji, 2008 BCCA 214 ($1.6 million, husband’s income higher in past, spousal support $50,000/mo, higher than high end SSAG of $35,000/mo);
- and S.O. v. C.S.O., 2008 BCSC 283 ($909,569, low SSAG)
Men Get Big Awards Too With MacLean Law Who sets The records For Highest support That Is Gender Neutral
Lorne MacLean KC and Sophie Bartholomew obtained a record $30,000 a month spousal support win for a male professional earning $400,000 a year with child support win of $25,000 a month and retroactive support of $600,000 W.A.K. v. C.R.A.M., 2024 BCSC 2009
⚖️ Significance Of Highest Men’s Spousal Support
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The $30,000 monthly spousal support by MacLean Law is exceptional and potentially one of the largest spousal support awards to a male spouse in Canadian legal history.
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The decision affirms that spousal support is gender-neutral and based on need, compensatory factors, and ability to pay, regardless of gender.
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Reinforces courts’ willingness to award high child support at $25,000 for one child under a shared custody arrangement when justified by income and children’s needs under the Federal Child Support Guideline
Our High Net Worth Interim Spousal Support act across Canada. Contact us early on in your family law case so you and your children do not suffer financially. Toll free 1 877 602 9900.
