In British Columbia, a spouse is the person you have
been married to or the person you've been living with
in a marriage-like, common-law relationship - in other
words, your wife, husband, opposite- or same-sex partner.
When a couple separates or divorces, one spouse may
be eligible to receive financial support from the
other. This is called spousal support (sometimes also
called alimony or spousal maintenance), and is separate
and distinct from child
support.
We recommend you get legal
advice before you make any final decisions about
spousal support.
