Impact of Child Support on Spousal Support

• Author: Julien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 357-362

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IMPACT OF CHILD SUPPORT ON

SPOUSAL SUPPORT

A. PRIORITY OF CHILD SUPPORT OVER SPOUSAL SUPPORT;

EFFECT OF CHILD SUPPORT ORDER ON ASSESSMENT OF

SPOUSAL SUPPORT

Section . of the Divorce Act provides as follows:

Priority to child s upport

.() Where a court is considerin g an application for a child support order and a n

application for a spousal support order, the court sh all give priority to c hild support in

determini ng the applications.

Reasons

() Where, as a result of giving priorit y to child support, the court is unable to m ake a

spousal support order or the cour t makes a spousal support order in an amou nt that is less

than it otherw ise would have been, the court shall record its rea sons for having done so.

Consequences o f reduction or termination of child support ord er

() Where, as a result of giving pr iority to child support , a spousal support order was

not made, or the amount of a spousal suppor t order is less than it otherw ise would have

been, any subsequent reduction or term ination of that child support const itutes a change of

circumsta nces for the purposes of applying for a spousal supp ort order, or a variation order

in respect of the spous al support order, as the case may be.

Section . of the Divorce Act addresses the situation where the application for child

support and the application for spousal support involve members of the same family. It does

not establish priorities as between sequentia l families. For example, a former divorced wife’s

order for spousal support will not be subject to a statutor y priority in favour of the obligor’s

children from a second subsequently dissolved ma rriage. e dif‌f‌iculties that have plagued

the courts respecti ng the competing claims of sequential famil ies remain unresolved.

 Hilborn v. Hilborn, [] O.J. No.  (S.C.J.).