Spousal Support

In North America approximately 50% of all marriages will end in a divorce. Divorce is the dissolution of a marriage that can sometimes lead to one party having to pay spousal support, also known as alimony. Spousal support is an allowance made under a court order to a divorced person by the former spouse (The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 2003). In Canada it is a common belief that regardless of the reasons for divorce or separation the man can predictably be expected to pay spousal support. One of the most common grounds for divorce or separation in Canada is the infidelity of a partner. However, many find it hard to justify that a man should pay alimony when the reason for a divorce or separation is due to the infidelity of the wife. This issue can be looked at from both sides, one being that the man should have to pay. Canada has a no-fault system; therefore, alimony is based on need not conduct. If the wife was economically dependent on the husband 's income, then she should be awarded alimony to help her get by as a single person. Also, the standard of living during the marriage can affect the amount of alimony the wife might receive. On the other hand, woman should not be getting spousal support automatically just because they were married. With a no-fault rule in place, there is no deterrent for woman to make a commitment to their marriage, because whether they have cheated or not they could always leave with the possibility of receiving a better income than before. Women have pressed for years to get equal rights but still expect support from their former husband once they divorce. Whether it is considered just or not that men should be paying alimony for a spouse that has committed adultery, under Canadian law it does not matter. The Supreme Court of Canada 's Divorce Act states that "the court shall not make into consideration any misconduct of a spouse in relation to the marriage" (Canadian Press, 2004). This means that no matter how the marriage ended whoever supported the other could end of paying alimony. The court grants alimony to a spouse if they have a need for support, not based on their conduct during the marriage. Spousal support is paid to help with the recipients living expenses as a single person, because there are now two households that need to be paid for instead of one using the same amount of money (Divorce Info, 2005). If a wife was economically dependent on the husband she will most likely be awarded some kind of alimony but the amount and the duration of the alimony depends on various factors. The longer the marriage, the greater the chance that spousal support will be made, because the longer the marriage the stronger the presumption will be that both parties should have an equal standard of living. The difference in income also becomes am issue. The greater the difference between the incomes the greater the chance that spousal support will be made. If the husbands income is substantially larger than the woman 's than he should have to pay alimony, even if she was the one that cheated (John-Paul Boyd, 2006). The man should also pay spousal support if the woman is at an economic disadvantage. Sometimes after a couple has been married for a long period of time one partner can lose skills and opportunities for employment. If a woman has made career sacrifices for her marriage she will have a greater chance of being rewarded alimony (Brenda Cossman, 2006). Lastly, the man should pay alimony if the woman 's earning capacity is reduced because of her health, or other obligations such as child care. People might get the assumption that because men are court ordered to pay spousal support more frequently means that women should automatically get alimony once they get divorced. Alimony is designed to provide the lower-income spouse with money for living expenses (Divorce Info, 2005). If the woman makes an equal amount or more than the man, than he should not have to paying alimony. A party who is self sufficient or capable of being self sufficient at the end of a marriage will usually not be awarded spousal support (John-Paul Boyd, 2006). There are instances when a wife might begin living with another man, also known as cohabitate (NC Family Law, 2002). In a case like this, no alimony should be granted for wife because the party is probably getting enough support from the person they are living with, if not then she would have to try and prove her case. Usually cohabitation by a spouse receiving support is a basis for reduction or termination of alimony. If the wife has the mental and physical ability to work than no alimony should be granted to support her. Otherwise, women could marry with no intension of making the marriage last but end up earning an extra allowance after the divorce, along with her regular income from working. When there are no kids involved the wife would usually have no reason to sacrifice her career for the marriage, therefore she should simply live off her own income like before the marriage. Women have fought for equality in all areas of life, so why must they continue to demand alimony from ex-husbands. If she is making a descent living and no kids are involved than the man should not have to pay spousal support, especially when she broke the marriage with her infidelity. Divorce is always hard, especially when dealing with issues like alimony. What makes it so difficult is that no one could ever understand exactly what went on in a marriage, so to place blame is almost impossible. I believe this is why so many areas, such as Canada and some of the United States, have decided to go with a no-fault divorce act, because nobody except the husband and wife could ever really know who was to blame. The downfall of this is that woman might end up getting rewarded for bad behaviour, such as adultery. I believe that the issue of spousal support could never and will never be solved with black and white law enforcement.

Works Cited

"Alimony". Divorce Info. 9 Oct. 2006 http://www.divorceinfo.com/alimony.htm.

Boyd, John-Paul. "Spousal Support". JP Boyd 's BC Family Law Resource. 9 Oct. 2006 http://bcfamilylawresource.com. Cossman, Brenda. "Cheaters Beware." University of Toronto Faculty of Law. 24 June. 2004. 10 Oct. 2006. www.law.utoronto.ca/visitors_content.asp?item.

"Dictionary of the English Language." The American Heritage®. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alimony.

"Dating During Divorce". NC Family Law. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.ncfamilylaw.com/download/date46.html.

"Supreme Court to hear case on ‘no fault ' divorce." Canadian Press. 28 Sept. 2004 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.canadiancrc.com/articles/.

Cited: "Alimony". Divorce Info. 9 Oct. 2006 http://www.divorceinfo.com/alimony.htm. Boyd, John-Paul. "Spousal Support". JP Boyd 's BC Family Law Resource. 9 Oct. 2006 http://bcfamilylawresource.com. Cossman, Brenda. "Cheaters Beware." University of Toronto Faculty of Law. 24 June. 2004. 10 Oct. 2006. www.law.utoronto.ca/visitors_content.asp?item. "Dictionary of the English Language." The American Heritage®. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/alimony. "Dating During Divorce". NC Family Law. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.ncfamilylaw.com/download/date46.html. "Supreme Court to hear case on ‘no fault ' divorce." Canadian Press. 28 Sept. 2004 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.canadiancrc.com/articles/.