What Is Spousal Support?
Spousal support is court-ordered payments designed to ease the financial hardship of dependent spouses following a divorce. Many people commonly refer to it as alimony.
It usually factors into a divorce agreement when there’s a substantial gap between the earnings of spouses or in cases of financial need.
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How Does Spousal Support Work In California?
Several factors contribute to determining spousal support. In some cases, payments are temporary. These are usually intended to help one spouse get back on their feet.Under other circumstances, however, spousal support payments continue indefinitely.
Courts make determinations regarding spousal support after considering many factors such as:
- the length of the marriage,
- the standard of living during the marriage,
- as well as the age,
- health,
- earning capacity and
- job histories of both individuals.
The issue of spousal support modification can have a profound impact on how they live day-to-day and plan for retirement. In many of our cases, we must negotiate or litigate to achieve a minimization or termination of this sometimes oppressive obligation in our client’s best interest.
When Is Spousal Support Ordered
California is a community property state, which means it views all assets earned or acquired during the course of the marriage as belonging equally to both spouses.
Once you deal with the division of debts and property, then spousal support may come into play. This is most common when one spouse has additional needs, or there’s an imbalance in the settlement. If spousal support factors into your settlement, it will likely be one of your biggest post-divorce expenditures.
If each spouse can maintain a lifestyle similar to during the marriage, the issue may not come up at all.
The general idea is for each party to depart on a relatively equal footing. When a substantial gap in earning potential exists, health issues impact employment, or other elements arise, it may.
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Types Of Spousal Support
Temporary (Short Term) Support
As the name implies, temporary spousal support provides financial support for a limited duration. The “temporary” designation comes into play as these payments are designed to ensure stability to the lower-earning spouse during the divorce process.
Once the marriage is dissolved and permanent spousal support is either awarded or unnecessary, these payments generally stop.
Permanent (Long Term) Support
While temporary payments sustain one spouse during a divorce, permanent spousal support does the same on a long-term basis after the marriage officially ends.
The “permanent” label is something of a misnomer. Such awards rarely continue indefinitely. How long depends on a number of factors, like the level of need, the length of the marriage, and more. When it does continue indefinitely, it’s usually because of disability and inability to work.
If your marriage lasted longer than 10 years, things become more permanent. The court must order indefinite support until one party dies, one party marries, or the court rules otherwise. Only by reaching an out-of-court settlement can you avoid this.
How Are Payments Calculated?
As the goal is for each party to maintain the lifestyle they had during the marriage, that’s the general target. When determining the amount, many things figure into the final number. And like many areas of divorce, how much weight each carries differs from case to case.
Among others, the court considers:
- The length of the marriage.
- Level of education.
- Job skills.
- The earning potential of both spouses.
- Age.
- Health concerns.
- The standard of living while married.
- Child-care responsibilities.
- Level of need.
- Ability to pay.
This is not a comprehensive list by any means. Family Code §4320 lays this out in much more detail. Other scenarios may also figure into the decision. For example, if one party worked full-time to put the other through school. That often plays a role.
Regardless of how long a marriage lasted, California courts require parties seeking spousal support to show good-faith efforts to become self-sufficient. If you can’t become self-sufficient, you have to provide evidence to justify these claims.
Can You Modify Spousal Support?
Just because it's called permanent, doesn’t mean you can’t alter or end the payments. Either spouse can request modification or termination due to changes in financial standing, like the loss of a job.
If the recipient remarries or passes away, support payments should cease.
Modifications to the original agreement can happen if two spouses agree on the terms. Both sides still must enter into a written contract that explicitly states the new details, and a judge must sign off to make it official.
If you can’t reach an agreement, going to court may become necessary. The party who wants to modify the arrangement must file a motion to show that his or her financial circumstances have significantly changed since the original order.
The court, of course, requires evidence to back up these claims and will issue a ruling based on what it sees.
Spousal support forms just one piece of the larger divorce puzzle, but it’s an important one to consider. How it all shakes out in a particular case depends on the specific couples and their unique finances.
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