What is the impact of long-term marriage on spousal support?

The courts have also treated the length of the marriage as a significant consideration; the longer the marriage, the greater the entitlement to spousal support, Brisson v. Brisson, 2012 BCCA 396.

A spousal support award based on compensatory support recognizes that a spouse can suffer economic loss or disadvantage arising from the nature of the marriage relationship or its breakdown: Moge v. Moge, 1992 CanLII 25 (SCC), [1992] 3 S.C.R. 813 [Moge]. A spouse may have sacrificed their career or made other efforts during the marriage that conferred an economic advantage on the other spouse that persists after the breakdown of the marriage.

The compensatory basis for relief recognizes sacrifices recipient spouses have made in their having assumed primary childcare and household responsibilities, which often results in lower earning potential and fewer future prospects of financial success. Moge at 861-863, as cited in Chutter v. Chutter, 2008 BCCA 507 [Chutter].