How Is Vancouver Spousal Support Decided?

[43]      Canadian courts have identified three grounds for entitlement to spousal support: compensatory, non‑compensatory (also referred to as needs‑based), and contractual: Chutter v. Chutter, 2008 BCCA 507 at para. 47, citing Bracklow v. Bracklow, 1999 CanLII 715 (SCC), [1999] 1 S.C.R. 420 at paras. 15, 41–42.

[44]      In this Court’s recent decision in Cohoon v. Stobo, 2023 BCCA 479, Justice Voith described the principles underlying compensatory support as follows:

[31]        The Supreme Court of Canada first laid out the theoretical principles and basis for compensatory spousal support in Moge and later in Bracklow v. Bracklow, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 420, 1999 CanLII 715. Since then, a long line of cases from this Court have applied those principles. It is now well-settled that the underlying goal of compensatory support is the equitable sharing of the economic consequences of a marriage or its breakdown. It is intended to provide “redress from economic disadvantages arising from the marriage (such as diminished earning capacity and sacrificed career opportunities to take on childcare responsibilities) or the conferral of an economic advantage upon the other spouse (such as contributions to enhanced career development)”: Hague v. Hague, 2022 BCCA 325 at para. 36, citing Parton v. Parton, 2018 BCCA 273 at para. 39 and Chutter at paras. 50–51. See also Moge at 864; Marquez v. Zapiola, 2013 BCCA 433 at para. 33 and Zacharias v. Zacharias, 2015 BCCA 376 at para. 44.

[32]        Marriage, in the eyes of the law, is an economic partnership. If one partner makes economic sacrifices, it is generally to improve the circumstances of the family as a unit. This arrangement of mutual benefit is disturbed upon the breakdown of a marriage. Absent some form of compensation, a spouse’s financial sacrifices will often be borne exclusively by that spouse in the form of diminished earning capacity, and the financial benefits conferred on the other spouse will, absent compensation, exclusively benefit the advantaged spouse. Compensatory support, therefore, attempts to equitably share the economic consequences of a couple’s roles and their choices during the marriage: Rozen at para. 34, citing Zacharias at para. 44; Moge at 863–865.

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[49]      Non‑compensatory support is intended to address the gap between the needs and means of spouses resulting from the breakdown of a marriage: Chutter at para. 54. It arises from the principle that, by virtue of marriage, spouses have some ongoing responsibility to care for one another: Zacharias v. Zacharias, 2015 BCCA 376 at para. 27. The degree to which non‑compensatory principles apply depends on the nature and duration of the martial relationship and the standard of living enjoyed by the parties before and after separation: Chutter at paras. 54–61; Yemchuk v. Yemchuk, 2005 BCCA 406 at paras. 41, 48–50; Hodgkinson v. Hodgkinson, 2006 BCCA 158 at para. 69; Tedham at para. 55; Fisher at para. 53.

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[54]      To achieve a fair and equitable distribution of resources, each of the objectives in s. 15.2(6) must be examined in light of the means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including the factors set out in s. 15.2(4): Chutter at para. 46, citing Moge at 850–853. The manner in which family property has been divided is also relevant, because the division of property affects the relative condition, means and needs of the parties: Chutter at para. 75.

In the early 2000’s courts wouldn’t generally award spousal support if assets of $4 million or more were received by the lower earning spouse. Our win in Devathasan in 2019 had a wife receiving up to $100,000 a month until she received $25,000,000 of property and then it declined to $70,000 a month despite her award of $25,000,000 of property.

How Is Vancouver Spousal Support Decided?
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The revised user guide of SSAG says:

• A large property award does not necessarily preclude entitlement on either compensatory or non-compensatory grounds: see Chutter v. Chutter, 2008 BCCA 50; Bell v. Bell, 2009 BCCA 280; and Berta v. Berta, 2014 ONSC 3919.
• If there is a significant income disparity, entitlement on either compensatory or non-compensatory grounds may be established despite the fact that the recipient has a relatively high income and could on some understandings of the term be seen as “self-sufficient”.
• Judicial statements of principle do emphasize, repeatedly, that income disparity alone does not automatically mean entitlement to spousal support; see Lee, above, and R.L. v. L.A.B., above. However, in practice entitlement will generally be found in cases where there is a significant income disparity at the time of the initial application.
• for general information which DOES NOT REPLACE THE NEED TO OBTAIN LEGAL ADVICE click here.

Best Vancouver High Net Worth Spousal Support Lawyers

The takeaway is that in multimillion dollar net worth cases it isn’t clear whether spousal support will or will not be ordered and you should consult a lawyer who routinely handles these cases to make sure you maximize your family law result.