I have been paying spousal and child support for 4 years with no agreement in place. I will pay child support today but

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Customer: I have been paying spousal and child support for 4 years with no agreement in place. I will pay child support today but I do I have to pay spousal support if there is no signed agreement or court order?

Answered by Joey in 5 mins 7 months ago

Joey

10+ years of experience

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Expert in: Family Law, Legal, Estate Law, Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Employment Law, Business Law, Consumer Protection Law, Bankruptcy Law, Traffic Law, Personal Injury Law.

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Joey

8866 Satisfied customers

10+ years of experience

Joey

10+ years of experience

8866 Satisfied customers

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Joey, Expert

Hi and thank you for using JustAnswer. My name is ***** ***** I will be assisting you with your question.

I am licensed Canadian lawyer, and this conversation is for informational purposes only. I kindly ask for your patience as some questions take longer to answer and I may have to do legal research. I may be away from my desk from time to time, but rest assured I will always return back as soon as possible. If at any point during our conversation you don’t understand something, please let me know so I can clarify.

Joey, Expert

Good morning – sorry to hear of the situation. You technically are not required to make any payments unless there is an agreement in place or a court order. If you were to hypothetically stop, the other party could go to court and obtain such an order.

Does that help answer your question or did you have any additional questions about this issue?

Customer

Can an order be granted in my absence or would it be a court appearance to determine the amount?

Joey, Expert

For spousal support, the other party would need to make a claim at court and you each would be given an opportunity to make submissions before a judge if a settlement cannot be reached. If you don't defend the matter, then an order can be made in your absence.

Joey, Expert

Did you have any further questions about this issue?

Joey, Expert

Thank you for using JustAnswer. I wish you the best of luck. If you have any follow up questions about this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

Customer

I do have another question.
If my ex was healthy and chose not to find employment while she was healthy, and the end of spousal support is drawing near and she is now claiming suspect medical and mental health issues prevent her from working (she hasn’t applied for any jobs in 4 years) am I going to be held responsible to for her if she manages to convince a judge she incapable of working?
On that note, if she IS incapable of working, how is she then capable of being the custodial parent?

Joey, Expert

If she choses not to work, then that would reflect poorly on her should she insist she needs further support because of economic necessity. Some people are incapable of working, but can be the custodial parent. It would depend on her specific medical condition and abilities.

Customer

Hi Joey, another question I have is around the length of the relationship.
I moved in with my now ex wife while I was still married to my first wife until October of 2010 but moved in with my second wife in January of 2009 and separated Dec of 2017.
How long would te law say the length of the relationship was ?

Joey, Expert

Hi again - the relationship would be when it started and when it ended. For the purposes of calculating division of property and spousal support, it would be begin when you either married or moved in together.

Customer

The CRA website mentions that persons who are married to third parties may be considered common law partners provided their marriage has broken down and they have lived separate and apart from their spouse for at least one year, during which time they must have cohabitated in a conjugal relationship with the common-law partner. Cohabitation with a common-law partner can only be considered to have started once physical separation from the spouse has occurred. A common-law relationship cannot be legally established if one or both parties continue to maintain a conjugal relationship with a person to whom they remain legally married.

Joey, Expert

In family law, you could be married to one person and in a common law relationship with someone else.

Customer

If I am figuring out support calculations so I enter my ex’s amount from line 15000 or does she get to claim zero?

Joey, Expert

Yes, it's based on the line 150 income.

Customer

Even if her line 15000 only includes the support I have paid her? Her lawyer is using ZERO as her income in the support calculation.

Joey, Expert

If her only income is the support you provide her, then her income is nil for this calculation.

Customer

Snap

Joey, Expert

Ok.

Customer

If I have a written agreement without prejudice for spousal support (she would not allow me to claim all the support that I had paid as it would put it over the threshold for legal aid)
How far back will CRA allow me to claim my deduction if she were to agree to sign a document saying I had paid it? It’s an extra $800/m for 4 years. ($38,000)

Joey, Expert

CRA will let you revise tax returns up to 10 years back.

Customer

Thanks

Joey, Expert

You're welcome.

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