What is the test for income under section 7(1) of the BC Marriage Act?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from J.M. v. D.M., 2013 BCSC 502 (CanLII):
Section 7(1) … does however give the court a discretion. It requires the court to consider the means of the parties, not just their income. The word “means” should be interpreted broadly to include not just the income of the spouse, but other sources of revenue available to that spouse. The court can look at the economic wellbeing of the spouses and this includes a consideration of family income. Baum v. Baum, 2000 BCSC 1835.
Where the reasonableness of the expense is in issue, “the court can look beyond the respective incomes of the parties and consider their overall means, including income from other sources, such as family income”: Pearse v. Pearse, 2010 BCSC 117, at para. 44.
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