Calgary Family Law Blog

As a family law lawyer, I sometimes get asked the uncomfortable question, if my spouse dies, am I obligated to continue paying him or her spousal support.

In some circumstances, it is possible that despite the fact your ex spouse has passed away, you may be required to pay spousal support to his/her estate.

To determine whether or not your obligation continues, you will need to review the terms of your separation contract and all your relevant court orders, including your Divorce Judgement. The question of the continuation of this obligation will also depend on a number of factors, some of which include the terms of your separation contract, whether the obligation is binding on your and/or your spouse's estates, whether the contract contemplates death, whether the obligation is a "needs" based claim, and/or whether the obligation is reviewable.

Two associates of SBL, David M. Taylor and Elizabeth L. Stewart, recently attended the National Family Law Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. This is a four day intensive training program hosted by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada. The conference had hundreds of family law lawyers from all across Canada in attendance. Numerous members of the judiciary from across Canada were also in attendance. Topics discussed included advanced rules of evidence in court proceedings including newer mediums such as social media, advanced topics on spousal support, unusual property division, taxation issues in family law, and family trusts, amongst a host of other informative presentations. The members of SBL were also privileged to hear from the Federal Minister of Justice the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould who spoke of the new Divorce Act recently introduced into Parliament and the potential changes coming in family law. The lawyers at Soby Boyden Lenz LLP strive to stay on top of the law and emphasis attending educational events such as this in order to provide the best possible advice to our clients.

Many people come to family law lawyers for answers regarding their child and spousal support. While we would love to give easy and simple answers, this is often not the case. This is especially the case where either one or both of the spouses are self-employed. When you work for someone else, your income is fairly easy to calculate. You will either have a salary or you will be paid hourly. More importantly, your tax return from previous years will be, for the most part, an accurate representation of what your income is, for the purposes of child and spousal support. However, this is often not the case for self-employed individuals.

All family law contracts should be negotiated in good faith. There must be a clear "meeting of the minds" in forming a contract to ensure each party gives and receives exactly what he or she bargained for. That is not always the case. There are times when parties, in forming a contract, are not on the same page, and that can lead to costly consequences.