What is the test for a payor’s post-separation income increase in a determination of spousal support?

Justice McDermid in Patton-Casse v. Casse[12] sets out at para. 136, the criteria to be considered on a claim to include a payor’s post-separation income increase in a determination of spousal support: (a) Were the payor’s skills and credentials from which he earns the increased income obtained during marriage? (b) Does the income of the payor flow from a job that is different from that which he had during marriage? Is the reason for the increase a career continuation or a new venture? (c) Was this a long-term marriage with a “complete integration of the parties’ personal and economic lives”? (d) What is the time elapsed between the date of separation and the date of the income increase? (e) Is the support being awarded compensatory or non-compensatory?

These criteria were significantly expanded by Justice Chappel in Thompson v. Thompson[13] in which she repeated and expanded upon the general principle that a spouse is not automatically entitled to share in post-separation income increases. Relevant to these circumstances, she included in her analysis a consideration of whether the increase can be linked to contributions made by the recipient spouse; whether the parties’ personal and financial affairs became completely integrated during the course of the marriage, and the extent of the recipient’s sacrifices and contributions to the family.