Fine & Associates Professional Corporation
Family Law Lawyers in Toronto, Ontario
Our family law lawyers at Fine & Associates Professional Corporation understand the complexities that arise during divorces and legal separations. As a result, we provide skillful legal representation for spouses seeking alimony or spousal support to help them through the financial difficulties brought on by the dissolution of their marriage. In addition to providing quality legal advice, we will fight for the maximum amount owed to you. We will thoroughly investigate your spouse’s finances to ensure your spouse is not concealing income to defeat your spousal support claim.
Determining Spousal Support
There are numerous factors to consider when determining whether or not a spouse is entitled to spousal support and the amount of alimony payments or spousal support for which he or she is eligible. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
- The needs of the dependant spouse based on the lifestyle enjoyed during the relationship
- The ability of the payor to pay support
- The length of the marriage (which includes the amount of time the couple lived together prior to marriage)
- The age, physical, and mental health of both spouses
- The dependant’s capacity to contribute to their own support
- The standard of living enjoyed during the marriage
- The career sacrifices of the dependant spouse for the career advancement of the other spouse
Unlike child support, there are no legislated guidelines in order to determine the amount the payor is entitled to pay. However, the “Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines” (the SSAG) was recently developed by leading family law academics and family law specialists. These guidelines attempt to assist parties in determining the amount of spousal support for which they are eligible. Although not binding in a court, the SSAG is helpful in giving each party a rough estimate for how much they will be eligible to receive or have to pay in spousal support. These spousal support guidelines are based on a formula which considers the parties’ respective incomes, the length of the marriage, whether there are children, and other considerations.
Ask our family law lawyers at Fine & Associates Professional Corporation for more detailed information about Ontario spousal support guidelines. We will assist you with the calculation of spousal support that may be owing or that is owed to you.
Contact Our Spousal Support Lawyers
At Fine & Associates Professional Corporation, we are committed to helping you arrange your spousal support so that you have the peace of mind to focus on what’s really important: planning for you and your children’s future! Our dedicated lawyers will help protect your rights during your divorce or legal separation and we fight for the maximum amount you are eligible in spousal support or ensure that you only pay what you are obligated to pay!
Call 416-661-2066 to speak with family law lawyer Lorne Fine today!
Click Here for More Information about Determining Your Spousal Support/Alimony Payments Based on Ontario’s Advisory Support Guidelines