Darnell Smith - South Coast Law Group

Darnell K. Smith, J.D., B.B.A., practices in the areas of family law and personal injury law.

Darnell is an experienced as both a trial and collaborative lawyer. This allows him to help guide you through a separation or divorce whether you get along well or if things turn ugly. His goal orientated style helps to ensure a cost effective and efficient resolution to the disputes between the parties.

Darnell joined the Association of Law Firms at South Coast Law Group having experience at two previous firms. His experience at various firms has allowed him to pull the best ideas of each into the creation of his personal law corporation.

Darnell’s legal assistant, Brandi-Lyn, is both experienced and trained in legal administrative work. She is often able to assist clients with procedural steps in order to mitigate legal fees and promote efficiency.

Darnell’s legal professional affiliations include the Canadian Law Society, the Trial Lawyers of British Columbia, Law Society of British Columbia, Fraser Valley Bar Association, and Thompson River’s University Law School Alumni.

In addition to professional affiliations, Darnell is active in his community. He is president of the British Columbia Soccer Referees Association, supports the Langley and Surrey Christmas Bureaus, volunteer with the Langley Tri-it Triathlon, Access Pro-bono, and various soccer activities.

Outside of work Darnell is happily married to his amazing wife Amanda. They have a growing family which presently consists of a daughter and dog. As a family they enjoy travelling the province and enjoy the many outdoor activities locally available.

Spousal Support: Understanding financial support when a relationship ends

Spousal support is money paid from one spouse to another after the breakdown of a relationship. Both married and common-law spouses may be entitled to spousal support.

Spousal support attempts to ease the financial effects of the relationship and its breakdown for both spouses. The law does not presume any spouse is automatically entitled to support, rather the court looks at the factors to determine if spousal support is payable. The factors include:

the finances of both spouses,
the length of the relationship,
the role each spouse had during the relationship,
the ongoing responsibilities for care of the children, if any,
any agreement or orders previously made.

A spouse may be entitled to spousal support for one of three reasons:

Contractual basis,
Compensatory basis, and or
Non-Compensatory basis.

Contractual Basis

The contractual basis requires an agreement. If the spouses enter an agreement regarding spousal support, the courts will try to enforce it. An agreement will not necessarily be enforced if changes have occurred since the creation of the agreement. Enforceability is a complicated legal question that should be asked of a lawyer who has had a chance to review the circumstances and agreement.

Compensatory Basis

A court may order compensatory support where one spouse sacrificed for the other or the family. The sacrifice can take many forms. In a traditional marriage (i.e. breadwinner and homemaker), the homemaker has sacrificed earning potential to keep the house. Typically, the homemaker will have less earning power after the marriage breakdown because of this. A spousal support order may be made to compensate the homemaker for the loss of potential career advancement due to the assumption of the homemaker role.

The Supreme Court of Canada, in Moge v. Moge, says this about compensatory basis for support:

The financial consequences of the end of a marriage extend beyond the simple loss of future earning power or losses directly related to the care of children. They will often encompass loss of senority, missed promotions and lack of access to fringe benefits such as pension plans, life, disability, dental and health insurance.

Non-Compensatory Support

Where spouses share domestic obligations and both work outside of the home, spousal support may be awarded on a non-compensatory basis or needs basis. This can be available if one spouse suffers a lower standard of living after separation and will need to be supported to have a similar standard of living during the relationship. If a spouse is unable to meet their basic needs after separation (rent, groceries, other bills, etc.) a non-compensatory support order may be available.

The landmark decision on non-compensatory spousal support was made in Bracklaw v. Bracklaw. In this case the Supreme Court of Canada increased access to a spousal support award. This case introduced the concept of non-compensatory support based on economic need alone.

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Separation and Divorce can be an emotionally draining and uncertain time. Spousal support is only one of the many areas a family law lawyer can help inform and guide you in making important decisions after the breakdown of a relationship. The best time to involve a lawyer in any family law dispute is at the outset as it will set the foundation for the process.