Spousal Support
Overview
Spousal support is divided into temporary and permanent support. These terms can be a bit misleading, since what the law means is pre-judgment and post-judgment support. Put another way, you may be entitled to receive or obligated to pay support during the course of your dissolution proceedings as well as after the divorce is finalized.
Temporary support is calculated with the same program used for calculating child support, and it is based on both parties’ incomes. As with child support, accurate imputation of each party’s income is essential to calculating proper temporary spousal support. Temporary support can last until the parties enter into a final judgment of dissolution.
Permanent spousal support is governed by completely separate rules. The length of your marriage is one of the major factors in determining the length of spousal support. Long term marriages lasting over 10 years are governed by different standards than short term marriages of under 10 years. Spousal support is also dependent on many other factors, including the marital standard of living, the age and health of the parties, and each person’s earning capacity. There is no automatic calculation of permanent spousal support.
Understanding the nature and consequences of spousal support is vital to making informed decisions and requests. We can educate you in this area and help you reach the best financial solution possible. We invite you to contact us directly to discuss your case.
FAQ
Q: Why should I have to pay spousal support if the other party is working full-time?
A: Spousal support is based on 14 different factors, including the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, disparity in income, among others. If you significantly out earn your spouse, it’s highly likely that the Court will find that some spousal support is appropriate.
Q: How long do I have to pay support for?
A: If your marriage is under 10 years, a good rule of thumb is to expect to pay support for one-half the length of the marriage. Marriages over 10 years in length are considered to be long term marriages, and chances are that there will be no automatic termination of spousal support after a certain period of time.
Q: My spouse told me that if I divorce her, the wife always gets alimony from the husband and I will be paying her. Is that true?
A: No. There are two types of alimony (which is called spousal support in California), “temporary” and “permanent.” These are legal terms, which means that the legal definitions are different from the everyday definition of these words. Temporary support is better described as “pre-divorce judgment support,” meaning support during the divorce proceedings. Permanent support means support after the divorce is finalized. Temporary support is based primarily on each party’s respective income. Permanent support is based on a number of different factors. In either case, there is no automatic award of spousal support.
Q: My spouse told me that if I divorce her, I will be paying her alimony forever. Is that true?
A: Permanent spousal support” does not mean forever and always. It simply means the amount of spousal support ordered after the divorce judgment is entered. The length of time a person needs to pay his or her spouse spousal support depends on a number of factors, including the length of marriage.
Q: My spouse told me that if I divorce him, I will lose my ability to claim spousal support because me asking for a divorce shows I don’t need him. Is this right?
A: Asking for a divorce does not mean you don’t need your spouse. All it means is that you no longer want to be married to him. Spousal support is always an issue that is brought up during divorce proceedings. That does not mean that you will always obtain support, but it does mean that the issue must be addressed.
Q: My spouse cheated on me, can I really end up paying him support?
A: Although spousal support is dependent on many different factors, the reason for the divorce is not one of those factors, unless there has been domestic violence.
Statutes
Family Code Section 4320.
In ordering spousal support under this part, the court shall consider all of the following circumstances:
- (a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
- (1) The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
- (2) The extent to which the supported party’s present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties.
- (b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party.
- (c) The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party’s earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
- (d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage.
- (e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.
- (f) The duration of the marriage.
- (g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.
- (h) The age and health of the parties.
- (i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as defined in Section 6211, between the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party by the supported party.
- (j) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
- (k) The balance of the hardships to each party.
- (l) The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a “reasonable period of time” for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended to limit the court’s discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in this section, Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties.
- (m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall be considered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal support award in accordance with Section 4325.
- (n) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.
