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Alimony, otherwise known as spousal support, serves
as a financial tool which enables Canadian couples
undergoing divorce an opportunity to receive
financial aid through tax advantages. Moreover,
alimony is intended to give the spouse with lesser
income money for daily expenditures. It should be
noted that alimony does not, however, include child
support, and both are different entities. Let us
know the difference between the two.
Child support refers to an amount that can be
determined through mathematical computations derived
by a set of guidelines.
In contrast, the amount of alimony a spouse can
receive depends on the decision given by the judge
handling the divorce case. Generally, a judge bases
his decisions on underlying factors such as the
ability of the spouses to make money from now onward
to the succeeding years, the number of years they
were married, the health and age of the spouses, the
type of property concerned, and finally, the conduct
shown by the couple undergoing divorce.
Furthermore, alimony is tax deductible with respect
to the giver of the alimony, and with respect to the
receiver of the alimony, it will be included in his
or her taxable income. This is in contrast with the
case of child support, which is the other way
around. Moving on, there are certain common
requirements which need to be met before alimony is
constituted.
First, the payments should be given in cash,
however, checks are acceptable too. Secondly, the
payments should be supported by a written contract.
Thirdly, alimony has to be paid on a time wherein
your spouse and you are living in separate
residences. Lastly, the alimony payments should
cease on the death of the one receiving the alimony.
For more technical issues regarding alimony, you can
consult a Canadian divorce lawyer.
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