Tab 6
Spousal Support: Structure, Amount, Duration, and Reviews
Spousal support is between the two of you, not for the kids — that is Tab 5. The SSAG framework gives a range, not a single answer.
Who pays whom
Whichever party earned significantly more during the relationship usually pays. If you both earned about the same, often nobody pays. There is no rule that one gender pays the other — it is purely about the income difference.
How much — low, mid, high
The SSAG gives a range. Most agreements use the mid. Low fits when the payor has high necessary expenses (a big mortgage they took on to keep the family home), the recipient is healthy and employed, or the marriage was short. High fits when the recipient gave up career years for the family, has health issues that limit earning, or there is long economic interdependence.
For how long
SSAG duration is based on relationship length. Rule of thumb: support runs for 50% to 100% of the length of the relationship. A 10-year marriage means 5 to 10 years of support. A 25-year marriage often means 12 years to indefinite. Rule of 65: if your age plus years married is 65 or more at separation, support is often indefinite. A 55-year-old who was married 15 years (55+15=70) usually gets indefinite support.
Structure — pick one
Complete mutual release (neither of you pays the other, ever — fits short marriages with similar incomes, but it is a one-way door). Time-limited (pay $X per month for N years, then it ends — fits medium-length marriages where the recipient needs a bridge to self-sufficiency). Indefinite (pay $X per month with no fixed end — fits long marriages, big income gaps, Rule of 65 cases). Lump sum (one payment, done forever — fits clean breaks where there is enough cash or equity).
Review clauses
Even with a fixed monthly amount, you can build in regular reviews. Annual review (every year, exchange tax returns and adjust support). Every two years. On material change only (job loss, raise, retirement, illness, new baby). For most agreements, annual exchange of tax returns plus recalculation is standard.
Ready to start your agreement?
Use the calculator to estimate support, or start a guided Ontario separation agreement now.