Category: Spousal Support

If sufficient resources are available spousal support may be paid from one spouse to another in lump sum form. This has the advantage of allowing the parties to have a clean break. A lump sum may also be appropriate if the payor spouse presents a high risk of defaulting on ongoing payments. Lump sum spousal support is not taxable in the hands of the recipient and it is not tax deductible to the payor.

The repartnering or remarriage of a support recipient affects spousal support under the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. It is to be noted that repartnering and remarriage does not necessarily mean that there is an automatic termination of spousal support. The following factors often have an impact on determining the quantum of spousal support when a support recipient repartners or remarries: Whether the support recipient is in receipt of compensatory or non-compensatory spousal support. Compensatory spousal support is often treated differently than non-compensatory spousal support. The standard of living in the recipient’s new household. The length of the first marriage is often a relevant factor to be considered. The age of the spouse receiving spousal support. In extreme situations, it is easier to attempt to predict the outcome of the recipient spouse repartnering or remarrying. For instance, remarriage by the recipient of spousal support may well terminate spousal support if the first marriage was short in duration, the spousal support is non-compensatory and the recipient is young. This ability to predict is not sufficient to provide a formula that can be applied across the board in these cases. If you are a recipient of spousal support and you are considering repartnering or remarrying, contact the...