The Vancouver high income spousal support lawyers and high net worth Vancouver alimony lawyers at MacLean Law are well aware of the Spousal Support Advisory Guideline High Income Exception provisions for incomes of over $350000 because of Lorne MacLean QC’s precedent setting high income spousal support case in ARJ v ZJ which set combined child and spousal support at a nearly $30,000 a month. In a 2017 win Lorne N MacLean, QC obtained over 62,000 a month of spousal support and over $83,000 of combined monthly child and spousal support.
This blog has been updated July 15, 2018 by Lorne N. MacLean, QC founder of our team of Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers.
Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers 604-602-9000
Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers explain that Special Vancouver Support Rules Apply for Incomes Above $350000
Vancouver spousal support cases, involving the paying spouse’s income being over $350,000 mean the stakes for these BC spousal support cases are as huge as the amounts that can be ordered paid as Vancouver spousal support and Vancouver alimony. So how is spousal support decided in cases where incomes are far abouve $350,000 per year?
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In this rarified financial atmosphere it pays a family law client with a high income, or a separating spouse who has a spouse earning a high income, to hire one of our highly rated* senior family law lawyers. You cannot afford to have the wrong spousal support amount or wrong duration of spousal support payment awarded. Our Vancouver Spousal Support $350,000 Cap Lawyers will make sure your rights are protected.
Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers SSAG Exceptions Over 350k
The larger stakes at these income levels and the complexities of the individual cases which will often involve Vancouver child as well as Vancouver spousal support mean that the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are not absolute above $350,000 income levels for paying spouses. Our Vancouver Spousal Support $350000 Cap Lawyers know that as annual incomes rise over $350,000, the number of cases favour departure from a slavish application of the SSAG basic calculation rules.
What Do Spousal Support Guidelines Say Is The Correct High Income Spousal Support Approach?
The following is an extract from the final version of the Vancouver Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines:
11.3 Payor Income Above the $350,000 Ceiling
To repeat, the ceiling is not a “cap” on spousal support, nor does it bar the continued use of the formulas as one method of arriving at an amount in a particular case. The examples below illustrate the operation of the ceiling and some of the issues that arise in cases above the ceiling.
If the payor earns more than $350,000, e.g. $500,000, a court can decide to go higher or not. Under the with child support formula the operation of the ceiling is complicated by the fact that child support increases as incomes rise above the ceiling. We can suggest two possible approaches for these very high income cases using the with child support formula.
The first approach uses the formula to determine a minimum amount for spousal support, an approach we can call “minimum plus”. A notional calculation would be required to calculate spousal support at the $350,000 ceiling, using the child support payable at the ceiling. This would determine the “minimum” spousal support range. This approach might make more sense where the payor’s income is closer to the ceiling.[100]
The second approach would be one of pure discretion. Once the payor’s income exceeded the ceiling, then there would be no “minimum” for spousal support, just a dollar figure that would take into account the actual amount of child support paid, an amount which can be very large for high income cases. At some point, the large amounts of child support include a component that compensates the recipient spouse for the indirect costs of child-care responsibilities, leaving less need for spousal support to do so. This approach will become more important where the payor’s income is well above the ceiling.
Here is an extract from the Revised SSAG User Guide on how far larger annual incomes than $350,000 in cases of well over a million dollars of income per year a departure to fall below the slavish math calculation of the spousal support guidelines will occur:
… In J.E.H. v. P.L.H., 2014 BCCA 310, there is a careful review of the law for cases above the ceiling, where some of these principles are stated.
- The formulas for amount are no longer presumptive once the payor’s income exceeds the “ceiling”. The ceiling is not an absolute or hard “cap”, as spousal support can and usually does increase for payor incomes above $350,000.
- The formulas are not to be applied automatically above the ceiling, although the formulas may provide an appropriate method of determining spousal support in an individual case, depending on the facts.
- Above the ceiling, spousal support cases require an individualized, fact-specific analysis. It is not an error, however, to fix an amount in the SSAG range, as was done in J.E.H. v. P.L.H., above. Evidence and argument are required.
- Where the payor’s income is not too far above the ceiling, the formula ranges will often be used to determine the amount of spousal support, with outcomes falling in the low-tomid range for amount. How far is “not too far above” is still not clear. Somewhere between $500,000 and $700,000, it seems.
- Once the payor’s income is “far” above the ceiling, then the amount of support ordered will usually be below the low end of the SSAG range, but SSAG ranges are still calculated and sometimes the outcome will fall within the SSAG range. In light of these principles, it is critical that counsel do SSAG calculations even in high income cases.
- It is wise to calculate the ranges for alternative income levels: for the $350,000 ceiling (as a minimum) and for the full income (as a maximum), as well as for a range of intermediate incomes (to assist the court in triangulating an outcome).
Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers BC Wealthy Lifestyle
The amount of spousal support payable in Vancouver support cases under the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines is often set near a level of the prior family lifestyle.
Here is an extract from MacLean’s winning case in ARJ where full mid range spousal guideline support was awarded althought ht payor’s income was well above $350,000:
[44] In cases where the parties are wealthy, the court can consider lifestyle in determining the wife’s needs for the purposes of spousal support. If means are available, the appropriate standard of living is a reasonable standard with reference to the marital standard of living: Touwslager v. Touwslager 1992 220 (BC CA), (1992), 63 B.C.L.R. (2d) 247, 9 B.C.A.C. 203.
[45] Where there are the means available, the payee spouse is entitled to receive spousal support in an amount sufficient to enjoy a level of comfort beyond her basic needs: Hodgkinson v. Hodgkinson, 2006 BCCA 158 , 2006 BCCA 158, 53 B.C.L.R. (4th) 52 at para. 69.
[46] Where the parties have had a long marriage, the goal of spousal support may be equality of standards of living: Yemchuk v. Yemchuk, 2005 BCCA 406 , 2005 BCCA 406, 44 B.C.L.R. (4th) 77 at para. 50.
[47] Thus, in the present case, where it appears that the parties enjoyed an affluent lifestyle, the wife is entitled to receive support sufficient to maintain a high level of comfort and a lifestyle on par with her husband. See also M. (H.R.) v. B(D.M.), 2004 BCSC 147 , 2004 BCSC 147, Kopelow v. Warkentin, 2006 BCCA 271 , 2006 BCCA 271 and Kuznecov v. Kuznecov, 2006 BCSC 1926 , 2006 BCSC 1926.
[48] Both parties reviewed in argument the discretionary nature of the spousal support guidelines. In the circumstances here I see no need to depart from the Guideline amount, and I find that spousal support is payable in the amount of $17714 per month.
Our Vancouver High Income Spousal Support Lawyers are ready to protect your rights. Contact us now to begin planning your winning support strategy. Call us at 604-602-9000 in Vancouver and across BC in Kelowna, Fort St John and Surrey and Richmond.
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