Spousal Support Definition: Payments to an ex-spouse which are temporary or indefinite, lump sum or periodic, designed to pool and share the income of both spouses for that period of time necessary for the lower-income spouse to become economically self-sufficient. Related Terms: Alimony Also known as spousal maintenance or alimony.The Canadian Divorce Act defines a spousal support order as:"... an order requiring a spouse to secure or pay, or to secure and pay, such lump sum or periodic sums, or such lump sum and periodic sums, as the court thinks reasonable for the support of the other spouse."The criteria for making such an order are the length of time the spouses cohabited, the functions performed by each spouse during cohabitation and any order, agreement or arrangement.REFERENCES:Divorce Act, 1985 Revised Statutes of Canada, Chapter 3, (2nd Supplement), published at canlii.org/ca/sta/d-3.4/ Duhaime, Lloyd, Spousal Support Under Canada's Divorce Act Categories & Topics: Family Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!