When it comes to determining the appropriate amount of child or spousal support in a family law case, the court will consider a range of factors, including the income of each party. However, what happens when one party is not currently earning an income, but has the potential to earn …
Imputing Income When Under-employed or Unemployed
In Alberta, child and spousal support are calculated based on the payor’s income. If someone has chosen to work less or take lower paying work, the Court may determine that imputing income to that individual is the appropriate course of action. This has historically been a difficult thing to do …
Adult Interdependent Partner Support – What support are unmarried parents entitled to?
Separated parents in Alberta may be entitled to receive support from the other, despite not having been married. Adult Interdependent Partner support, or support for a common law partner, can be a highly contentious issue as the payor typically feels that since they did not get married, they should not …
What is the ‘Rule of 65’?
Spousal support in Alberta can be a very complicated issue as there are multiple steps and considerations to determining appropriate support, one of which is the “Rule of 65”. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines provide guidance for how Courts in Alberta will determine whether a party is entitled to spousal …
Gender Inequity in Family Law: The Men, The Myth, the Urban Legend
Family Lawyers regularly encounter male clients who feel preemptively aggrieved by the judicial system. Some men’s advocacy groups would have you believe that court decisions in Family Law are unjustly and favourably skewed toward women. That perception is not reality. Parenting Issues When couples with children separate, the two key …
Calculating Guideline Income for Support Purposes
If you are the payor or recipient of child or spousal support in Alberta, it is important you are aware of how calculating guideline income comes into play. While your guideline income may be the same as your Line 150 (or as of 2019, Line 15000), that is not always …
Child Support & Spousal Support “Calculators”
A determination of entitlement to child and/or spousal support logically leads to an analysis of the appropriate amount. With increasing demand, the general public is seeking immediately available and reliable resources for “child support calculators” and “spousal support calculators”. CHILD SUPPORT “CALCULATORS” The Federal Child Support Guideline tables make the calculation of …
In high asset divorce, does remarriage end spousal support?
There are many issues often at play when a married couple chooses to end their union. In a high asset divorce, one common issue is spousal support. Many Alberta payers assume that spousal support payments will automatically end when their former spouse remarries or finds employment, but this is not always …
Spousal support among common divorce surprises
Even in a fairly amicable divorce, surprises and misconceptions can catch people off guard. Those undergoing the divorce mediation process in Alberta should be aware of some of the financial and legal issues that await them, such as the impact of spousal support and the challenges of disconnecting shared accounts. Here …
How compensation structure can impact child and spousal support
On the surface, declaring income for a divorce may seem relatively straight-forward. However, it often becomes a matter of far more than just presenting last year’s tax return. For Alberta workers who must factor in commission, bonuses or even a job change, estimating and identifying income can become a challenge. It …