Fight for support surges as divorced Canadians confront rising cost of living

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Divorce is often a tough journey to go through but as the cost of living increases, any clash over spousal and child support can become even testier.

The price of groceries and gas is higher than ever, and the tariffs and counter-tariffs between Canada and the United States don’t appear to be removed anytime soon.

So, naturally, separated and divorced parents who are counting on support payments want, and perhaps maybe need, them to be higher.

But at what cost?

For the parents paying support, they will likely be asking to lower payments to reflect those increasing daily living expenses.

“What we’re seeing is a perfect storm of personal finance issues,” Alyssa Bach, associate lawyer of Shulman & Partners LLP, said.

“Everyone needs more money to make ends meet, but where will the money come from?” she asked. “This creates conflict and it’s hard on everyone.”

Economic instability during these times can pile on the pressure on both parents as they struggle to manage higher household costs.

Double the cost

As a result, any funds that were once shared in the relationship are now used to cover the expenses connected with running two homes — and that’s tough for everyone involved.

Those increased costs apply to everything from double the living expenses, including paying for rent/mortgage on two properties and twice the household bills, from utilities to streaming services.

“It can be hard to understand how divorce impacts finances, but there’s an automatic doubling of bills due to having two separate households to run, and managing the costs of raising children in both of those homes when there’s shared parenting,” Bach said.

“With the recent rapid increases in costs of daily living, we’re receiving requests to lower support payments just as we’re receiving requests to increase support payments.”

Payments can be adjusted

Legislation in Ontario allows for adjustments in support to be made with the rise and fall of cost of living, and payments are based on financial circumstances, she noted.

To change spousal support payments might be easier than playing around with child support payments, Bach acknowledged, noting that the adjustments to child support payments can be requested if circumstances make it hard to pay the required amount or household living standards are lower than the other parent’s household standard.

“These extra expenses may create personal finance mayhem as people are facing higher prices and both households require more money than ever to sustain daily life.”

She added: “It’s a very difficult time.”

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