How Is Spousal Support Calculated in Alberta? Factors and Formulas

If you are separating, one of the first questions is usually whether support will be paid and how much. The honest answer is that there is no single calculator written into Alberta law. The amount comes from a mix of legal factors, the facts of your relationship and, often, a set of guideline formulas.

This article explains the steps in plain language: which law applies to you, how entitlement is decided before any amount, what factors the court looks at, and how income, length of relationship and children push a figure up or down.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Which law applies to you

Married couples seeking a divorce use the federal Divorce Act, under which a court may order one spouse to pay or secure lump-sum or periodic spousal support. The Act's word "spouse" includes a former spouse.

Alberta's Family Law Act covers other situations. Every spouse or adult interdependent partner has an obligation to provide support for the other. Married spouses who are not seeking a divorce can still claim spousal support under it, while unmarried partners cannot use the Divorce Act.

An adult interdependent partner is generally someone who has lived with another person in a relationship of interdependence for at least 3 continuous years, or for some permanence if there is a child of the relationship, or who has signed an adult interdependent partner agreement. Related persons and people who are still married and living with their spouse have special rules.

Entitlement comes before the amount

A guideline formula does not decide whether you should receive support. Entitlement has to be established first, and if there is none the formulas do not apply; an income gap alone is not enough.

• Compensatory support responds to economic loss or disadvantage from relationship roles, such as child care or supporting a spouse's career.
• Non-compensatory support responds to need or to a drop in the marital standard of living.
• Contractual support arises from an agreement.

After a short marriage with limited financial interdependence and an income disparity, courts have found no entitlement at all. Under the Family Law Act, a support order can be made only if certain conditions are met, such as living separate and apart or holding a declaration of irreconcilability.

The factors a court weighs

Under the Divorce Act, the court considers the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each spouse, including how long they cohabited, the functions each performed and any existing order or agreement about support. The Family Law Act lists similar factors, and adds the payer's legal obligation to support another person and the extent to which others living with either party contribute to household expenses.

The court also looks to the objectives of support. These include recognizing economic advantages or disadvantages from the relationship or its breakdown, sharing the financial consequences of child care beyond child support, relieving economic hardship and promoting each person's self-sufficiency within a reasonable time.

Fault is treated differently by each law. Under the Divorce Act, a court shall not consider misconduct in relation to the marriage. Under the Family Law Act, misconduct is generally not considered, except conduct that arbitrarily or unreasonably precipitates, prolongs or aggravates the need for support, or unreasonably affects the payer's ability to pay.

How income, length and children produce a figure

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines are not law, but judges often base their decisions on them, and lawyers use them when advising and drafting agreements. They use two main formulas, depending on whether there are children.

In the without-child-support formula, the basic range builds at roughly 1.5 to 2 per cent of the gross income difference per year of marriage, and the recipient should never end up with more than 50 per cent of the spouses' net disposable income. In shared custody, the with-child-support formula starts from equal net disposable income.

Where both child and spousal support are claimed, child support has priority. If that leads to no spousal support or a lower amount, the court must record its reasons under the Divorce Act, and a later reduction or end of child support can support a new application or variation.

What to do next

• Gather income records for both of you, such as tax returns and pay statements.
• Write down the length of your relationship, the date you separated and who performed which roles, including child care.
• Collect any existing agreements or orders about support.
• Note your monthly expenses and any debts or other support obligations.
• Speak with a lawyer about which law applies to you and whether the guideline range fits your facts.

Support may be set on an interim basis while the main application is decided. A lawyer can explain how that fits your situation.

Frequently asked questions