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What is Covered by Support?

Video: What is Covered by Support?

By: Steven Benmor, B.Sc., LL.B., Family Lawyer

Jurisdiction: Ontario (Canada)

Support general means, and we use the word “support” like “child support” or “spousal support” or “parent support”, it’s providing financial assistance to the person that needs you to cover their cost of living. [Host: So is that something that is pre-discussed and put into a document prior to marriage or is that something that is visited afterwards?] It’s an interesting question because some people want that to happen. Some people will say, “Look, we’re getting married, or we’re going to get married, or we’re going to have kids, we’re going to live together and have kids, and so I want to make an agreement that says if we have kids this is what my financial exposure is. I don’t mind supporting you when we’re together but when we split up, I don’t want to have to pay more then “$X amount” per month because I want to be able to continue my life independently.” Well the law says that the courts, the Courts of Ontario, will not respect that sort of agreement. In other words, you can’t bargain away, or negotiate, before the kids are born, or even if they are born but before you split up what’s going to be paid to the kids down the road. … (click here for more)

Steven Benmor

(’First Take Live’ video clips courtesy of Dan Carter Productions. Original Broadcast: 2007) About the author: Steven Benmor practices Family Law in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Visit Steven Benmor’s online Family Law Resource Center for concise answers to many more frequently asked Family law questions, feature articles on Family law topics, dozens of links to other Family law websites, and more at www.benmor.com. The information on this page is for discussion purposes only. It is by no means legal advice or even a statement of the law on this subject. Please do not rely on the accuracy or completeness of this information. Any question or concern elicited by the information on this page should be taken to a lawyer who will consider the facts of each case and the legal remedies available.