Can Spousal Support Be Changed After Separation?

If you’ve been divorced for a while and are either paying or receiving spousal support, then you’ll know that the determination as to the amount was the result of a complex process.  The primary factor was your and your Ex’s financial circumstances at the time of your separation.  

But as you will also know, those circumstances may have changed in the years that followed.  

You or your Ex may have: 

• Lost your job, 

• Received a substantial increase in income, 

• Retired, 

• Developed health problems, or  

• Become more financially self-sufficient.  

When these kinds of circumstances change, the existing spousal support obligation may sometimes be changed as well. 

When Can Spousal Support Be Changed? 

Where spousal support is payable under a court order, Ontario law allows either you or your Ex to ask the court to change, suspend or terminate that obligation. 

If you are already divorced, then section 17 of the federal Divorce Act allows the court to vary a spousal support order where there has been a change in the “condition, means, needs or other circumstances” of either you or your Ex.  

Similarly, section 37 of Ontario’s Family Law Act permits the court to vary a spousal support order where there has been a “material change” in the circumstances of either of you – whether you are the recipient or the payor.  Importantly, once this threshold is met, the court can vary, suspend or discharge the support obligation, either prospectively or retroactively. 

“Material Change” is the Key 

The important concept is that there must be a “material change in circumstances.” It is not enough that something in your life, or in your Ex’s life, has changed. Instead, the change must be significant enough that if it had been known when the original support order was made, it would likely have resulted in different terms being imposed.  

The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed this approach in a case called L.M.P. v. L.S., 2011 SCC 64. 

What Kinds of Changes May Be Significant? 

Whether a particular development amounts to a material change depends on the circumstances. Common examples may include: 

• A substantial increase or decrease in either your or your spouse’s income, 

• An involuntary job loss or significant change in employment, 

• Retirement, 

• Illness or disability affecting your or your spouse’s ability to work, 

• A significant improvement in the recipient spouse’s financial circumstances, 

• Changes in responsibilities for children, or 

• The reduction or termination of child support. 

A recent Ontario decision illustrates how changed circumstances can affect spousal support. In Starra v. Starra, 2026 ONCA 405, the spouses had been married for 25 years, and the husband had been paying substantial spousal support under a final order for approximately 11 years. When he approached retirement, he sought to terminate his support obligation.  

The wife, meanwhile, sought increased support based on her deteriorating health, increased medical expenses and continuing inability to work. The court found that both the wife’s increased medical expenses and the husband’s retirement and corresponding reduction in income constituted a “material change” in the circumstances. After considering the parties’ current financial positions, as well as the compensatory basis for the wife’s support entitlement, the court substantially reduced support and ordered that it continue for a two-year transitional period before terminating. The Court of Appeal upheld that result.  

The case demonstrates that even long-standing spousal support arrangements can be revisited where the parties’ circumstances have materially changed. 

Does a New Relationship Count?  What About Retirement? 

Incidentally, if you or your Ex remarry or enter into a new relationship, this may also be relevant, but it does not automatically terminate the spousal support obligations that are in place. Its significance depends on such matters as: 

• The recipient’s continuing need,  

• The nature of the new relationship, and  

• The basis on which support was originally awarded.  

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines recognize that remarriage, re-partnering and second families generally require an individualized assessment, rather than an automatic result. 

Similarly, your or your Ex’s decision to retire does not automatically end a support obligation, either. A court may consider whether the retirement was reasonable, how it affected the payor’s income, the parties’ ages and financial circumstances, and whether the recipient continues to have an entitlement to support. 

What Factors Will the Court Consider? 

A straightforward change in income is often the trigger for a motion to change, but it is only part of the analysis. The court considers both your and your Ex’s overall circumstances, together with the purposes of spousal support. 

Under the Divorce Act, those purposes include: 

• Recognizing economic advantages or disadvantages resulting from your marriage or its breakdown, 

• Addressing financial consequences associated with caring for children,  

• Relieving economic hardship arising from the breakdown of your marriage, and  

• Promoting each spouse’s economic self-sufficiency where practicable. 

Once the legal requirements for varying support have been established, the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines may also assist in determining an appropriate amount and duration of the new support order.  

Note: The Guidelines are advisory rather than legislation, however, and they do not replace the requirement to establish a material change in circumstances. 

What If We Agreed to the Amount of Spousal Support?  

The situation may be more complicated where you have previously entered into a separation agreement with your Ex, and support was one of the topics you covered.  

The wording of your agreement matters. Some agreements are drafted to specifically provide for future reviews when particular events occur, such as retirement or a change in income. Others contain provisions intended to make the support arrangement final. 

Where the terms of your separation agreement have been incorporated into a court order, then your original agreement can be highly relevant in deciding whether circumstances have changed sufficiently to justify varying that order. The court will consider what you and your Ex contemplated when you made your agreement, and whether the subsequent development was already addressed by its terms.  

What are the Practical Steps for Changing Support?  

As former spouses, you and your Ex can also mutually agree to change your support arrangements. But if you cannot agree – and there is an existing court order in place – then whichever of you is seeking the court-ordered variation will generally have to bring a motion to change, and must provide updated financial disclosure supporting the requested variation. 

Important note:  If you are the support-paying spouse, you should never stop paying unilaterally simply because you think the circumstances have changed. Until the existing support order is changed, it remains legally enforceable against you. 

Likewise, whichever of you is the recipient, if you believe your support should increase because your Ex’s financial circumstances have improved, you should obtain financial information and legal advice about whether there is a proper basis for seeking a variation. 

Spousal Support Is Not Necessarily Set in Stone 

It’s important to understand that if a court order for spousal support was made after your separation, this is not iron-clad indefinitely.  At the same time, courts do not lightly revisit support orders, merely because one of you is dissatisfied with your original order or agreement. 

The central factual and legal question is whether the circumstances have changed materially since support was last determined. Where they have, the amount, duration or continuation of spousal support may be reconsidered to reflect your and your Ex’s new financial reality. 

Changing an existing support order or arrangement is a complex matter. Be sure to get tailored legal advice before taking any steps to unilaterally alter your support situation.