Spousal support (also commonly known as alimony) is money a spouse may have to pay the other after a divorce or separation to help the lower-earning spouse maintain a similar lifestyle to what they enjoyed during the marriage. It can either be a temporary or a permanent safety net for the spouse who may struggle to make ends meet on their own.
If you can’t agree on spousal support, a judge can step in and decide based on three things:
(1) Whether the spouse needs the support,
(2) Whether the other spouse can actually afford to pay, and
(3) The duration of the marriage or civil union
🛑 ATTENTION! 🛑
Four things to keep in mind:
- The longer the marriage, the more likely spousal support will come into play, since a deep financial partnership or dependence is harder to untangle after years together.
- Spousal support does not apply to common law couples. This means, if you are just living with your partner without a formal union (marriage or civil union), you are not entitled to spousal support if your relationship ends, whether or not you have children together.
- If you satisfy the criteria above, spousal support is a right given by the court, not a privilege.
- You cannot renounce spousal support before marriage in a marriage contract. This means a marriage contract cannot state that the spouses agree not to pay or receive spousal support upon a possible breakdown of the marriage. The question of spousal support can only be agreed upon by consent or ordered by a judge after the breakdown of the marriage or civil union.
How to renounce spousal support following the breakdown of the union
It is possible to renounce spousal support, but it might not always be easy.
If you are able to go through your separation or divorce amicably and through a consent agreement, there is the option to renounce or limit spousal support.
In the consent agreement, you could agree on a specific term for spousal support (for example, spouse A agrees to pay spouse B $1,000/month for the next 12 months) or you could choose a one-time lump sum amount (for example, spouse A agrees to pay a one-time payment of $25,000 to spouse B, after which time spouse B cannot ask for more spousal support). This last option of a lump sum, in a way, is you renouncing your right to spousal support for the future.
You can choose to renounce spousal support altogether in the consent agreement. However, it would be best to speak with a lawyer to make sure you know how much spousal support you would be entitled to or need to pay and whether your current financial situation would allow you to make this decision.
Always at the discretion of the judge
Remember! While the court will take into account any agreement made between the spouses, your renunciation of spousal support might not be enforceable if a judge deems the consent agreement unreasonable or made under duress.
Additionally, if you are going through divorce or separation proceedings in court, whether or not you have an agreement with respect to spousal support, the judge always has the final say. This means if one party can show the judge that the terms of the agreement would lead to significant unfairness or hardship for one or both ex-spouses, the court may intervene to modify or reject your agreement.
So what does this mean?
While it is possible to renounce spousal support following the breakdown of a marriage or civil union, this renunciation will not always be upheld by the court, especially if it undermines the financial security of the spouse renouncing the support or if circumstances change in a way that makes the renunciation inequitable.
Prior to a union, however, spouses cannot include in a marriage contract or civil union contract that they renounce, in advance, to the payment or receival of spousal support in the event of a marriage or civil union dissolution.
