Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines

The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) are a set of formulas developed by Professors Carol Rogerson and Rollie Thompson, with support from the federal Department of Justice. They were released in final form in 2008. The SSAG provide ranges for the amount and duration of spousal support based on the incomes of the spouses and the length of the relationship. They are not law — they are advisory guidelines that courts and lawyers use as a starting point for spousal support analysis. Courts are not required to follow the SSAG, but they are widely used and departures from the ranges must be justified.

The SSAG contain two main formulas. The Without Child Support formula applies when there are no dependent children and child support is not being paid. It calculates support based on the difference in the spouses' incomes and the length of the relationship. The With Child Support formula applies when child support is being paid. It calculates spousal support based on the net disposable incomes of the spouses after child support is taken into account. Each formula produces a range — a low, mid, and high amount — and a range of duration. The appropriate point within the range depends on the specific circumstances of the case.

Under the SSAG, the duration of spousal support is generally calculated as a range of years based on the length of the relationship. Under the Without Child Support formula, the range is typically 0.5 to 1 year of support for each year of the relationship, up to an indefinite order for long marriages (generally 20 years or more, or where the marriage was 5 years or more and the spouses' ages and years of marriage add up to 65 or more — the 'rule of 65'). Under the With Child Support formula, support typically continues until the last child finishes school, with a review at that point. These are ranges, not fixed rules — courts have discretion.

Courts can depart from the SSAG ranges when the circumstances justify it. Recognized exceptions include: compensatory cases where the recipient made significant career sacrifices; cases where the recipient has a serious illness or disability; cases where the payor has unusually high debts or obligations; cases involving a very short marriage with no children; and cases where the recipient has already achieved a high degree of self-sufficiency. Departures from the SSAG must be explained — a court that simply ignores the ranges without justification risks having its decision overturned on appeal.

The SSAG are most useful as a framework for negotiation. Before negotiating spousal support, both parties should calculate the SSAG range using their actual incomes. This gives both parties a realistic sense of what a court would likely order and provides a principled basis for negotiation. Many lawyers use the SSAG calculator (available online) to generate the range quickly. Agreeing on a number within the SSAG range is generally easier than arguing from first principles. If one party wants to depart from the range, they should be prepared to explain why.

The SSAG have limitations. They are advisory, not mandatory. They do not determine entitlement — if a spouse is not entitled to support, the SSAG ranges are irrelevant. They do not account for all the factors courts consider, such as the specific roles played during the relationship, the health of the parties, or the availability of assets. They can produce results that seem unfair in specific cases. And they are based on income data that may not reflect the full financial picture of a high-net-worth couple. The SSAG are a useful starting point — not the final word.