What is the impact of a long-term marriage on a spouse's ability to pursue employment?

The longer the marriage, the more it weighs in favor of an award of compensatory support. Marriages of the length of the 37 years in Brisson v. Brisson 2012 BCCA 396; the 37 years in Shepherd v. Shepherd, 2013 BCSC 1173; and of the 35 years in Steen v. Steen, 2010 BCSC 1166, weighed in favor of an award for compensatory support. The parties’ marriage of 29 years, calculated to the date of separation, weighs in favor of a compensatory award; but the length of the marriage, per se, did not detract from the wife’s capacity to pursue employment after separation, or put good employment out of reach, given age and lack of employable skills, as seen in some cases.