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Spousal support disputes involve three fundamental questions: Is there entitlement? How much? For how long? When negotiation fails, Lexaltico LLP provides the trial advocacy and financial analysis needed to achieve a fair result at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
Book My 15-Minute Assessment →Spousal Support Trials | SSAG Calculations | Income Imputation | Ontario Superior Court | Initial Assessments
Courts in Ontario typically use the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) as a starting point. The SSAG provide formulas that generate ranges for both amount and duration based on the spouses’ incomes, the length of the marriage, and whether there are dependent children. The court exercises discretion within these ranges based on the specific circumstances.
Tell us briefly what is going on. A lawyer reviews every enquiry and replies within 24 hours on business days.
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Spousal support in Ontario is governed by section 15.2 of the Divorce Act (for married spouses) and Part III of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 (for both married and unmarried partners who have cohabited for three or more years). Entitlement is not automatic. It must be established on one or more of three recognized bases.
Compensatory entitlement addresses economic advantages or disadvantages arising from the marriage or its breakdown. Where one spouse sacrificed career advancement, education, or earning capacity to support the family or the other spouse’s career, compensatory support seeks to redress that imbalance. Non-compensatory (needs-based) entitlement addresses a significant disparity in the spouses’ standards of living after separation. Contractual entitlement arises from a domestic contract that provides for support.
At trial, entitlement is a question of fact and law. Our trial lawyers present detailed evidence of each spouse’s income, earning capacity, roles during the marriage, and post-separation financial circumstances to establish or contest entitlement on the appropriate basis.
Once entitlement is established, the court determines the amount and duration of support. The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG), while not legislation, are used by courts across Ontario as a starting point for calculating quantum and duration. The SSAG provide two formulas: the without child support formula and the with child support formula.
Under the without child support formula, the amount ranges from 1.5% to 2% of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes, multiplied by the years of marriage. Duration ranges from 0.5 to 1 year per year of marriage. The with child support formula uses a different methodology based on the recipient’s share of individual net disposable income (INDI).
The SSAG produce ranges, not fixed amounts. The court exercises discretion within (and occasionally outside) those ranges based on the specific facts. Our lawyers are experienced in running SSAG calculations, identifying factors that justify amounts at the higher or lower end of the range, and presenting this analysis effectively at trial. We use specialized software to model different scenarios and demonstrate the financial impact to the court.
Spousal support calculations depend on accurate income determination. Where a spouse is self-employed, has variable income, or is intentionally underemployed, the court may impute incomethat is, attribute a higher income than what the spouse actually earns. Under section 19 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines (applied by analogy to spousal support), income may be imputed where a spouse is intentionally under-employed, is exempt from paying federal income tax, lives in a country with significantly lower taxes, or has diverted income.
Establishing the appropriate income for support purposes often requires forensic accounting evidence. Self-employed individuals may draw a modest salary while retaining significant income within a corporation. Professionals may reduce their billings or take extended leaves. Business owners may underreport income or inflate expenses.
Our trial lawyers work with forensic accountants to analyze tax returns, financial statements, bank records, and corporate documents to present the court with a complete and accurate picture of each spouse’s income and earning capacity. We handle the cross-examination of opposing financial lawyers and present clear, organized financial evidence that supports our client’s position on income and, consequently, on the appropriate level of support.
Use our Child Support Calculator for an instant estimate based on Ontario law. Takes under a minute, and you can have a detailed breakdown emailed to you.
Our lawyers offer a 15-minute initial assessment for most matters. Call, email, or book online. Do not sign anything before speaking with us.
55 University Ave, Suite 1100
Toronto, ON M5J 2H7
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Lexaltico LLP
How Lexaltico LLP handles personal information, under PIPEDA and Ontario law.
When you use a form on this site, email us or telephone us, we collect what you choose to send: your name, email address, telephone number and a description of the situation. Nothing on this site requires you to give more than that.
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We do not collect sensitive personal information through this website. Detailed personal and legal information is collected only after a solicitor client relationship exists, through the channels set up for that purpose.
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Under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5 you may ask what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct anything inaccurate, and withdraw consent to our use of it, subject to legal and contractual limits. We reply within thirty days or explain why we need longer.
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This site publishes several hundred pages about Ontario law. They are written carefully, they cite statutes and cases by name, and they are reviewed. None of that makes them advice about your matter. Law is applied to facts, and we do not know yours.
The difference is practical rather than technical. A page explaining that spousal support is usually indefinite after a twenty year marriage is accurate as a general statement and may be wrong about you, because of a domestic contract you signed, a period of separation you have forgotten, or an income that is not what a tax return says it is.
Law also changes. Pages carry a review date where one is relevant. A page reviewed last year may not reflect an amendment made since, and a page about a subject currently before an appellate court may be overtaken between your reading it and your acting on it.
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Information sent through a form, or by email, before a retainer is signed is not covered by solicitor client privilege. That is not a policy we chose. It follows from there being no solicitor client relationship for the privilege to attach to.
It can also create a problem for you. If you send us detailed information about a dispute and we are later approached by the other side, what you sent may affect whether we can act for either of you.
So tell us the shape of the problem and leave out the detail: the area of law, roughly when it arose, and whether anything is urgent. That is enough for us to say whether we can help. The documents come after the retainer.
Case results described anywhere on this site are real and are described accurately, and they are specific to their own facts. A settlement at three times the original offer happened because of that employer, that contract and that person’s history. It says nothing about what your matter is worth.
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Calculators on this site produce estimates from the figures you enter. They apply published formulas and they cannot know about the facts that most often change the answer.
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Every limit on what this website tells you, and every thing it does not do, in one place rather than in small print at the bottom of each page.
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These pages describe the law of Ontario, and of Alberta only where a page says so expressly. They do not describe the law of any other province, territory or country. Law that looks similar across jurisdictions frequently is not.
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Lexaltico LLP is regulated by the Law Society of Ontario under the Law Society Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.8. All lawyers practising in Ontario through the firm are members in good standing.
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Immigration consulting is provided by Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, S.C. 2019, c. 29, s. 292.
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