Support

There are two types of “support payments” in Canadian family law, whether you’re in Ontario or BC: child support and spousal support.

Sometimes people (especially in the USA) call spousal support “alimony”. Even in Canada, some people refer to support payments as “maintenance” payments so you might see the terms “child maintenance” and “spousal maintenance” used in different places. Regardless, all these terms refer to the same two things: child support and spousal support.

Child support is the most certain thing in family law. Spousal support, on the other hand, is open to a lot of interpretation and negotiation.

Whether you are talking about child support or spousal, the idea is simple: there is a payor who must pay the support, and a recipient who receives the support.

If the information on this site doesn't answer your question, you can book a free, no obligation consultation in Toronto about your divorce and family law rights in Ontario and BC. We provide video and telephone consultations.