B. Implications of Child Care during Marriage and after Divorce on Spousal Support Entitlement

AuthorJulien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
Pages361-362

Page 361

Sections 15.2(6)(b) and 17(7)(b) of the Divorce Act empower a court to equitably apportion the indirect financial consequences of childrearing between divorcing or divorced spouses by means of spousal support. Professor Ellen Zweibel has identified four distinct indirect and direct costs of child rearing, namely:

(i) the indirect costs of the increased responsibility of child care falling on a single parent and the cost of time spent on household, child rearing and nurturing tasks;

(ii) the increased direct costs of services purchased to meet the needs of the child, such as work related child care, babysitters, assistance with household tasks;

(iii) the hidden increased costs associated with shopping and housing functions; and

(iv) lost employment opportunity costs.39As L’Heureux-Dubé J. observed in Moge v. Moge,40 a woman’s ability to support herself after divorce is often significantly affected by her role as primary caregiver to the children both during the marriage and after the divorce. Her sacrifices include loss of training, workplace security and seniority, absence of pension and insurance plans and decreased salary levels. These losses may arise from the woman’s role as primary caregiver, regardless of whether or not she was employed outside the home. Bearing these considerations in mind, lawyers and

Page 362

courts should reject the notion that short-term marriages with children warrant only short-term spousal support and that any such support should be reduced or terminated when the youngest child is old enough to attend school.

On marriage breakdown and divorce, poverty is essentially a parenting problem. It is not single women with employment potential who suffer most. It is single mothers who must shoulder both economic and parenting burdens. This must be borne in mind under sections 15.2(6)(a),(b), and (c) and 17(7)(a), (b), and (c) of the Divorce Act. As L’Heureux-Dubé J. has stated extra-judicially: "Through judicial discretion, these objectives must be interpreted and applied in a way that does not perpetuate the feminization of poverty and further diminish the economic condition of women after divorce."41

[39] Ellen B...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT