By Educator
In a divorce, a person can sometimes ask their ex to pay child support for themselves. For whom and why the pension? We inform you.
Alimony is an amount of money to help one of the ex-spouses support themselves after the divorce.
Several elements are taken into consideration to determine whether a former spouse has the right to seek child support for himself. Here are three things to consider:
- Compensate a spouse for his role during the marriage
The role that each of the spouses played during the marriage is evaluated to determine whether they are entitled to alimony.
For example, a couple may decide that one of the spouses will continue to work during the marriage, while the other will stay at home to take care of the children. The working spouse will then continue to advance his career during the years of marriage.
If the couple divorces, they could be better financially than the spouse who gave up his career.
The spouse who has stopped working could then ask for child support. This financial assistance after the divorce will compensate for her lack of relevant experience regarding the new demands of the job market.
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- The duration of the marriage matters in determining whether there will be support
In general, the longer the cohabitation during the marriage, the more likely it is that one of the spouses may be entitled to alimony in a divorce.
It is the period of cohabitation that is taken into consideration. If the couple lived together before getting married, this could count in deciding whether one is entitled to alimony.
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- Maintain a certain standard of living
One of the pension objectives for ex-spouses is to enable the spouses to maintain the same standard of living after the divorce as during the marriage.
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For example, two spouses could have a very luxurious lifestyle during the marriage because one has a very high income and assumes the majority of the expenses. In this case, the other spouse could ask for alimony to allow him to maintain the same standard of living in the event of divorce.
How is alimony paid?
Alimony can take several forms:
a single payment or
a periodic payment.
If alimony takes the form of a periodic payment, it may be awarded for a fixed period. For example, the pension could be paid for five years. It could also be delivered until the spouse who receives it reaches the age of 65.
If no duration is provided, alimony stops only if it is cancelled by a new judgment or if the paying spouse dies.
Payments can also be terminated by agreement between the parties or if other conditions stipulated in the court order are met.
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Is alimony tax deductible for the payer?
Spousal support paid periodically is taxable as income to the spouse who receives it. The spouse who pays it can, for his part, deduct it from his income.
These tax measures should be considered when determining the amount of child support. Check with Revenu Québec or the Canada Revenue Agency for more information.
