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Spousal Support Agreement Template
A Spousal Support Agreement is a bilateral contract between former spouses or common-law partners formalising the payment of spousal support outside the courts. Our free Canadian template tracks the federal Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG), satisfies the Miglin two-stage enforceability test, addresses the periodic vs lump-sum tax treatment under the Income Tax Act, and accommodates registration with the provincial maintenance-enforcement agencies (FRO in Ontario, FMEP in British Columbia, MEP in Alberta and the equivalents in other provinces).
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SPOUSAL SUPPORT AGREEMENT
Province Of Ontario, Canada
PAYER
Thomas Edward MacGregor
142 Roxborough Drive, Toronto, ON M4W 1X3
DOB: 1976-03-18
Occupation: Investment Banker
Gross income: 385,000.00 CAD/yr
DOB: 1976-03-18
Occupation: Investment Banker
Gross income: 385,000.00 CAD/yr
RECIPIENT
Anneliese Renée MacGregor
88 Castle Frank Road, Toronto, ON M4W 2Z6
DOB: 1980-11-22
Occupation: Part-time Art Curator
Gross income: 54,000.00 CAD/yr
DOB: 1980-11-22
Occupation: Part-time Art Curator
Gross income: 54,000.00 CAD/yr
Married: 2007-06-14
Separated: 2025-09-30 · Agreement: 2026-05-31
THIS SPOUSAL SUPPORT AGREEMENT (the "Agreement") is made on 2026-05-31 between Thomas Edward MacGregor (the "Payer") and Anneliese Renée MacGregor (the "Recipient"), who were lawfully married to one another on 2007-06-14 and separated on 2025-09-30, with no reasonable prospect of resumption of cohabitation. The Parties wish to settle the question of spousal support between them, with the intention that this Agreement be a final and binding settlement of that issue, to be governed by Part III of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 (sections 29 to 50) and (where applicable) the federal Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), section 15.2.
1.
NO DEPENDENT CHILDREN OF THE RELATIONSHIP
The Parties confirm that there are no dependent children of the relationship as at the date of this Agreement. Accordingly, the priority-of-child-support rule in section 15.3 of the federal Divorce Act does not apply, and the spousal support quantum agreed below has been calculated using the without-child formula of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines.
2.
FULL AND FRANK FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Each Party warrants to the other that they have made full and frank financial disclosure of their income, assets, liabilities and special-or-extraordinary expenses (the form and content of which is comparable to a Financial Statement under the applicable Family Law Rules), and that they have had a reasonable opportunity to review the other Party's disclosure with the benefit of independent legal advice before signing this Agreement. The Parties confirm their respective gross annual incomes for the most recently completed taxation year as follows: Payer 385,000.00 CAD · Recipient 54,000.00 CAD. Each Party acknowledges that the integrity of the bargain set out in this Agreement depends on the accuracy of that disclosure, and that material non-disclosure may render this Agreement vulnerable to set-aside under section 56(4) of the Ontario Family Law Act and the principles in Rick v Brandsema, 2009 SCC 10.
3.
PERIODIC SPOUSAL SUPPORT — QUANTUM AND PAYMENT TERMS
The Payer shall pay to the Recipient periodic spousal support in the amount of 6,500.00 CAD per month, payable in advance on the first day of each calendar month, beginning on 2026-06-01. The payments shall be made by Pre-authorised debit from the Payer's TD Canada Trust chequing account on the first business day of each month. Each payment shall be free of any set-off, deduction, withholding or counterclaim, save as required by law.
4.
DURATION OF SPOUSAL SUPPORT
The obligation to pay spousal support shall be reviewed by the Parties (or, failing agreement, by a court of competent jurisdiction) on the third anniversary of the start date and at three-year intervals thereafter, with each review treated as a review of the support obligation as a whole and not as a partial variation, in accordance with Chapter 14 of the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines.
5.
TERMINATION OF SPOUSAL SUPPORT
The obligation to pay periodic spousal support shall terminate, in any event, on the earliest of: (a) the date specified in the Duration article above (if any); (b) the death of either Party; (c) the Recipient's remarriage; (d) the Recipient's entry into a marriage-like or common-law conjugal relationship for a continuous period of one (1) year (the cohabitation-effect rule), unless the Parties agree in writing to a different consequence; and (e) the Payer's bona-fide retirement after the age of 65 (in which event the Parties shall use their best efforts to negotiate a variation reflecting the Payer's post-retirement income, failing which either Party may apply to vary under the threshold in L.M.P. v L.S., 2011 SCC 64).
6.
SPOUSAL SUPPORT ADVISORY GUIDELINES — FORMULA RECITAL
The Parties have calculated spousal support using the Without-Child Formula (SSAG Chapter 7) set out in the federal Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (Department of Justice Canada, July 2008, as periodically revised). The SSAG calculator, applied to the Parties' disclosed incomes and family circumstances, generated a monthly range of 6,000.00 CAD to 9,500.00 CAD. The agreed amount stated in Article 2 above is within (or, where the Parties have deliberately departed from, was negotiated with reference to) that SSAG range, satisfying the substantive review element of the two-stage Miglin test for enforceability of spousal support agreements. The Parties further acknowledge that the without-child formula yields a range of 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the gross income gap per year of marriage or cohabitation (capped at 37.5 to 50 percent after 25 years), and that the with-child formula targets 40 to 46 percent of the combined Individual Net Disposable Income (INDI) to the lower-income party after child support is set under the Federal Child Support Guidelines.
Notes on the calculation:
Without-child SSAG formula. 18 years of marriage at 1.85% per year = 33.3% of gross income gap ($331,000) = $110,233 annual = $9,186/month at the midpoint. Parties have agreed at the lower end ($6,500/month) to reflect the Recipient's ability to increase her curatorial earnings over the medium term; this is recorded as a deliberate compromise that remains within the SSAG range and does not amount to "significant departure" for Miglin purposes.
Notes on the calculation:
Without-child SSAG formula. 18 years of marriage at 1.85% per year = 33.3% of gross income gap ($331,000) = $110,233 annual = $9,186/month at the midpoint. Parties have agreed at the lower end ($6,500/month) to reflect the Recipient's ability to increase her curatorial earnings over the medium term; this is recorded as a deliberate compromise that remains within the SSAG range and does not amount to "significant departure" for Miglin purposes.
7.
TAX TREATMENT OF SPOUSAL SUPPORT
Periodic spousal support — tax treatment. The periodic spousal support payments under this Agreement are intended to qualify as "support amounts" under section 56.1 of the Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 1 (5th Supp.), with the effect that: (a) the Payer may deduct the total of payments actually made in a taxation year on line 22000 of the T1 General (gross payments reported on line 21999); and (b) the Recipient must include the total of payments actually received on line 12800 (gross on line 12799). To preserve the deduction, the Parties shall ensure that all payments are made in cash, that no amount is in arrears at year-end without reasonable explanation, and that the Agreement and any subsequent amendments are signed and dated.
CRA registration. The Parties shall register this Agreement (or, as the case may be, the consent order incorporating it) with the Canada Revenue Agency, using Form T1158 — Registration of Family Support Payments. Responsibility for filing the registration with the Canada Revenue Agency rests with family-law counsel of record for the Parties. The registration shall be submitted within 60 day(s) of the date this Agreement is signed.
The Parties shall jointly complete and submit Form T1158 within sixty (60) days of signing.
CRA registration. The Parties shall register this Agreement (or, as the case may be, the consent order incorporating it) with the Canada Revenue Agency, using Form T1158 — Registration of Family Support Payments. Responsibility for filing the registration with the Canada Revenue Agency rests with family-law counsel of record for the Parties. The registration shall be submitted within 60 day(s) of the date this Agreement is signed.
The Parties shall jointly complete and submit Form T1158 within sixty (60) days of signing.
8.
REVIEW ON MATERIAL CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES
The Parties shall in good faith review the amount and (where applicable) duration of spousal support under this Agreement on the 3-year anniversary of the start date stated in Article 2, and at 3-year intervals thereafter, and on the occurrence of any of the following triggering events: (a) the involuntary loss of employment by either Party for a period exceeding ninety (90) days; (b) the bona-fide retirement of either Party; (c) an increase or decrease of more than 25 percent in the gross income of either Party; (d) the disability, serious illness or death of either Party; (e) the Recipient's cohabitation with another person in a marriage-like or common-law relationship for a continuous period of one (1) year; (f) any material change in tax treatment of spousal support under the Income Tax Act; or (g) any other change that is substantial, continuing and which, if known at the time of execution, would have likely resulted in different support terms — applying the threshold articulated in L.M.P. v L.S., 2011 SCC 64, paragraphs 32-33.
9.
SECURITY FOR SPOUSAL SUPPORT
As security for the Payer's spousal support obligation under this Agreement, the Payer shall obtain and maintain in good standing a 20-year term-life insurance policy on the life of the Payer in the face amount of 750,000.00 CAD, naming the Recipient as irrevocable primary beneficiary so long as any spousal support obligation under this Agreement remains outstanding. The Payer shall provide written proof of premium payment to the Recipient on each anniversary of this Agreement. Failure to maintain the policy in good standing constitutes a fundamental breach of this Agreement and entitles the Recipient to elect, in addition to all other remedies, that any unpaid spousal support be immediately accelerated as a present-value lump sum.
10.
REGISTRATION WITH MAINTENANCE ENFORCEMENT
The Parties shall, within thirty (30) days after this Agreement is signed (or, where this Agreement is incorporated into a court order, after the order is granted), register this Agreement (or the order) with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), pursuant to the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 31. Registration entitles the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) to enforce the periodic spousal support obligation by all of the statutory mechanisms available to it, including without limitation income source deduction, federal interception, driver's licence and passport suspension, professional licence reporting, and registration against the Payer's real and personal property. The Parties further consent to the disclosure of their respective income information to the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) for the purposes of enforcement.
11.
MIGLIN ACKNOWLEDGMENT — ENFORCEABILITY AS A FINAL AGREEMENT
Each Party expressly acknowledges, having received independent legal advice, that this Agreement is intended to be a final and binding settlement of the issue of spousal support and is to be given the substantial deference contemplated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Miglin v Miglin, [2003] 1 SCR 303. Each Party further acknowledges that they have considered the two-stage Miglin enforceability analysis — namely (i) the circumstances surrounding the execution of the Agreement (including independent legal advice, absence of oppression and unfair circumstances, and substantive compliance with the SSAG range as recited above), and (ii) the substantial correspondence of this Agreement with the overall objectives of the Divorce Act — and intends that no future court should disturb the bargain set out in this Agreement except on the basis of a material change of circumstances meeting the threshold in L.M.P. v L.S., 2011 SCC 64.
12.
INDEPENDENT LEGAL ADVICE
Each Party warrants to the other that they have had the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice on the terms and effect of this Agreement before signing it, that they have read this Agreement in its entirety and understand its terms, and that they are signing it freely and voluntarily without duress, undue influence, mistake or misrepresentation.
Payer's counsel of record: Jennifer Wei, Wei Family Law LLP, 100 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Recipient's counsel of record: Olivier Tremblay, Tremblay and Associés, 200 University Avenue, Toronto, ON
Payer's counsel of record: Jennifer Wei, Wei Family Law LLP, 100 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Recipient's counsel of record: Olivier Tremblay, Tremblay and Associés, 200 University Avenue, Toronto, ON
13.
GOVERNING LAW
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, including (where applicable) the Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), and is subject to Part III of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 (sections 29 to 50).
14.
EXECUTION AND WITNESSING
For this Agreement to be enforceable as a domestic contract under Part III of the Family Law Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.3 (sections 29 to 50), each Party must sign it in the presence of an adult witness who is not a Party to the Agreement, and the witness must also sign. The Parties confirm that this Agreement is signed in the presence of Catherine Louise Ashworth of 76 Forest Hill Road, Toronto, ON M5P 2N5, who is not a Party to this Agreement.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date indicated.
PAYER
Thomas Edward MacGregor
Date: ____________________
RECIPIENT
Anneliese Renée MacGregor
Date: ____________________
WITNESS
Catherine Louise Ashworth
Date: ____________________
Available as a print-ready PDF or an editable Microsoft Word (.docx) file.
What Is a Spousal Support Agreement?
A Spousal Support Agreement is a written contract between former spouses or common-law partners that records the amount, form, duration and tax treatment of spousal support payable between them. It is most commonly negotiated as part of a separation settlement and either stands as a freestanding domestic contract under the provincial Family Law Act or is incorporated into a divorce order under section 15.2 of the federal Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.).
Quantum is usually negotiated by reference to the federal Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG), an advisory but widely followed framework published by the Department of Justice. The without-child formula yields 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the gross income gap per year of marriage or cohabitation (capped at 37.5 to 50 percent after 25 years). The with-child formula targets 40 to 46 percent of the combined Individual Net Disposable Income (INDI) to the lower-income party after child support is set under the Federal Child Support Guidelines.
Periodic spousal support is deductible to the Payer (T1 line 22000) and taxable to the Recipient (T1 line 12800) under section 56.1 of the Income Tax Act. A lump-sum payment is neither deductible nor taxable, per CRA Folio S1-F3-C3. To preserve the deduction, the Agreement should be in writing, signed and dated, with payments made in cash on a periodic basis; registration of the Agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency on Form T1158 is strongly recommended.
What's Covered in This Template
Our Spousal Support Agreement template covers every element a Canadian family-law lawyer would expect.
Payer & Recipient Details
Full legal names, addresses, dates of birth, occupations and most-recently-disclosed gross annual incomes for both parties.
Relationship Recital
Confirmation of marriage or common-law cohabitation, date of marriage, date of separation, and provincial common-law threshold.
Financial Disclosure Warranty
Express warranty of full and frank financial disclosure — the foundation of Miglin and Rick v Brandsema enforceability.
Quantum & Payment Terms
Periodic monthly amount or lump-sum amount, start date, payment method, end date or open-ended reviewable structure.
Duration Provisions
Indefinite (Rule of 65), reviewable (every 3 years per SSAG Chapter 14), fixed end date, or fixed number of years.
Termination Events
Standard termination triggers — death, recipient remarriage, recipient cohabitation, payer bona-fide retirement after 65.
SSAG Formula Recital (Expert)
Without-child or with-child formula, calculated range, deliberate-departure justification — defeats the Miglin "significant departure" argument.
Tax Treatment & CRA Registration (Expert)
Periodic vs lump-sum tax distinction with T1 line numbers, Form T1158 registration clause, named filing-responsible party.
Variation Schedule + Security Clause (Expert)
Structured material-change triggers + life-insurance security with face-amount and beneficiary-irrevocability provisions.
Maintenance Enforcement + Miglin Acknowledgment (Expert)
Registration with provincial enforcement agency (FRO / FMEP / MEP) + express Miglin enforceability acknowledgment.
How to Create Your Spousal Support Agreement
Follow these steps to prepare an agreement that satisfies the Miglin enforceability test and remains defensible against future variation applications.
- 1
Calculate the SSAG Range First
Run your gross incomes through a Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines calculator (DivorceMate, MySupportCalculator) to identify the without-child or with-child formula range before negotiating quantum.
- 2
Exchange Sworn Financial Disclosure
Each party should produce a sworn financial statement equivalent to the Form 13.1 (Ontario) or comparable provincial form, with three years of tax returns and Notices of Assessment.
- 3
Decide on Periodic vs Lump-Sum Structure
Periodic = monthly cash flow with tax-deductible/taxable treatment. Lump sum = clean-break settlement, neither deductible nor taxable, used for capital-rich, income-poor situations.
- 4
Pick a Duration Framework
Reviewable every 3 years for routine cases; indefinite for marriages of 20+ years or the Rule of 65; fixed end date or years for short-to-medium cohabitations under SSAG Chapter 6.
- 5
Add Variation + Security Clauses (Expert)
Define material-change triggers (income shifts above 25 percent, retirement, cohabitation) and require the Payer to maintain term-life insurance with the Recipient as irrevocable beneficiary.
- 6
Register with Maintenance Enforcement (Expert)
Register with the provincial enforcement agency (FRO Ontario, FMEP BC, MEP Alberta) within 30 days to access income-source deduction, federal interception and licence-suspension remedies automatically.
- 7
Each Party Should Obtain Independent Legal Advice
Sign the ILA clause and (Expert) name your counsel of record — ILA is the single biggest factor in Miglin Stage One execution analysis.
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Legal Considerations
Spousal support agreements are governed by a federal-provincial overlay of statutes and Supreme Court of Canada decisions.
This template is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Spousal support agreements carry significant financial consequences and tax implications. Consult a qualified Canadian family-law lawyer in your province for advice specific to your situation, particularly where lump-sum payments, long-term marriages, retirement planning or estate planning are at issue.
Reviewed for Canadian federal and common-law-province requirements
Federal Divorce Act
Section 15.2 of the federal Divorce Act authorises a court to order one spouse to pay support to the other on or after divorce. Section 15.3 gives child support priority over spousal support. Section 17 governs variation of spousal support orders on a material change of circumstances. Where the parties are not divorced or are common-law, only the provincial Family Law Act applies — federal jurisdiction attaches at divorce.
Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG)
The SSAG (Department of Justice Canada, July 2008, periodically revised) are advisory but widely followed. The without-child formula yields 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the gross income gap per year of marriage or cohabitation (capped at 37.5 to 50 percent after 25 years) for a duration of 0.5 to 1.0 years per year of marriage (indefinite after 20 years or the Rule of 65). The with-child formula targets 40 to 46 percent of the combined Individual Net Disposable Income (INDI) to the lower-income party.
Miglin Two-Stage Enforceability Test
The Supreme Court of Canada in Miglin v Miglin, [2003] 1 SCR 303 set out a two-stage test for the enforceability of a spousal support agreement: Stage One asks about the circumstances surrounding execution (independent legal advice, absence of duress or oppression, full and frank disclosure); Stage Two asks about the substantive correspondence of the Agreement with the objectives of the Divorce Act. An Agreement that recites the SSAG range, records ILA and accommodates a material-change variation framework is presumptively enforceable under both stages.
Material Change Threshold for Variation
The Supreme Court of Canada in L.M.P. v L.S., 2011 SCC 64 confirmed that the threshold for variation of a consent order incorporating an Agreement is the same as for ordinary orders — a change that is substantial, continuing and that, if known at the time of execution, would have likely resulted in different terms. A well-drafted variation schedule (Expert section H) defines material change in advance, limiting expensive future disputes.
Income Tax Treatment
Periodic spousal support paid under a written agreement is deductible to the Payer under section 60(b) of the Income Tax Act (reported on T1 lines 21999 / 22000) and taxable to the Recipient under section 56(1)(b) (reported on lines 12799 / 12800). Lump-sum payments are neither deductible nor taxable per CRA Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3. Registration of the Agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency on Form T1158 is strongly recommended to preserve the deduction and to align the parties' tax reporting.
Provincial Maintenance Enforcement
Each common-law province operates a maintenance enforcement program that takes registration of spousal support agreements and orders and enforces them by income-source deduction, federal interception, driver's licence and passport suspension, professional licence reporting and registration against the payer's real and personal property. The agencies are: the Family Responsibility Office (Ontario), the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (British Columbia), the Maintenance Enforcement Program (Alberta), and the Maintenance Enforcement Office (Saskatchewan).
Quebec — Excluded From This Template
Quebec is governed by the civil-law regime under the Civil Code of Québec and uses a distinct alimony framework. A separate Quebec-specific template will follow in a future sprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
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