How to Change or End Spousal Support in Alberta

Spousal support is not always fixed forever. Jobs end, health changes, children grow up and people retire. If your situation has shifted, you may be wondering whether the amount can go down, go up or stop.

This article explains in plain terms how Alberta courts approach changing or ending spousal support, what the order or agreement itself can say, and what to do before you act. Every situation is different, so a lawyer can confirm how this applies to yours.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Which law applies to your support

The rules depend on how your support was ordered. Married couples seeking a divorce use the federal Divorce Act, and its definition of spouse includes a former spouse. Married spouses who are not divorcing can still claim spousal support under Alberta's Family Law Act, and unmarried adult interdependent partners use that Act too, since they cannot use the Divorce Act.

Under the Divorce Act, a court may vary, rescind or suspend a spousal support order, either retroactively or prospectively. Under the Family Law Act, the court may vary, suspend or terminate a support order or any part of it.

What has to change

You cannot simply ask for a different result because you are unhappy with the old one. Under the Divorce Act, the court must be satisfied that the condition, means, needs or other circumstances of either former spouse have changed since the order or the last variation, and it must take that change into account. Under the Family Law Act, the ground for spousal or partner support is likewise a change in the condition, means, needs or other circumstances of either party.

The change must be a material one. It generally has to be substantial and continuing, and one that would likely have led to a different order if it had been known at the time. A variation is not a fresh hearing or an appeal, and the court changes the order only as far as the change justifies.

• A job loss, a significant drop or rise in income, or a serious health change may be relevant, depending on the facts.
• A short-term setback may not be enough if it is not continuing.
• The court also keeps the support objectives in view, including relieving economic hardship and, so far as practicable, promoting each person's self-sufficiency within a reasonable time.

Time limits, reviews and retirement

A support order may be for a definite or indefinite period, or until a specified event occurs. A review is closer to an initial application, though its scope can be limited by the terms of the review order. In longer relationships, support is generally indefinite but not necessarily permanent, and it may be reduced or ended if self-sufficiency is reached.

Retirement is a common reason people return to court. Where the order or agreement is silent, retirement is usually treated as a material change. An order or agreement can also name retirement as an express review ground. Early or voluntary retirement is looked at closely, and a court may find no material change. Where a pension was already divided as property, the payer must prove what part was divided before the burden shifts to the recipient.

Agreements, consent orders and death

If your support came from a consent order, it is assessed under the same material change test, and specific finality clauses carry more weight than general ones. A change in the guideline outcome alone is not enough to vary a consent order made before the SSAG or one that did not use the SSAG.

Under the Family Law Act, a support agreement cannot vary an existing support order. Unless the court orders otherwise, a support order ends on the death of the person receiving support, but arrears owing before then are not affected.

What to do next

• Get your current order and any agreement and read the terms on duration, review and retirement.
• Write down exactly what has changed, when, and whether it is continuing.
• Collect income records, proof of expenses and anything showing the change.
• Ask a lawyer whether your order should keep being followed while you seek a change, since a court can vary spousal support retroactively or prospectively under the Divorce Act.
• Speak with a lawyer about whether the Court of King's Bench or the Alberta Court of Justice is the right place and what to ask for.

Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, the Maintenance Enforcement Program collects and enforces these payments in Alberta. Ask a lawyer how a change would be reflected there.

Frequently asked questions