California spousal support (also commonly called “alimony” and sometimes “palimony”) generally means to ensure from time to time that a spouse without financial means has enough to pay living expenses after the divorce. In addition, however, it can be affected by properties or assets given to the spouse.
California’s spousal support laws do not create an automatic assessment simply because one spouse makes less money (or even no money) compared to the other spouse. When one spouse requests alimony as part of a divorce, the court must look at a variety of factors to determine whether alimony is appropriate for that spouse.
Some people look at alimony as a way to get a lot of money without working. This is generally not true. It is timed so that the couple can achieve their own two feet within a reasonable amount of time.
Of course, those filing or filing for divorce from the other spouse should note the basic California spousal support laws. Then they can decide to deal with it in court or deal with it when meeting with a California divorce lawyer.
First, when a divorce is filed, the law essentially enforces the settlement of all financial matters. If no settlement is reached, California law provides spousal support with a set of factors to determine how much alimony, if any, to provide to the spouse.
California alimony is generally temporary, but can be permanent in special circumstances, such as a disabled spouse with a permanent disability or a long-term marriage where the elderly spouse he stayed at home while the other continued his career.
According to California Family Code, Section 4320, California courts use the following factors for spousal support plus other just and equitable factors;
1. Whether each party deserves the ability to maintain a standard lifestyle during the marriage;
2. Whether the party in need of assistance is interested in receiving the education, training, career or license of the other spouse;
3. The spouse’s ability to pay support for the betrothal (this includes income, other assets, ability income and standard of living);
4. The needs of the parties (also for the standard of living achieved in marriage);
5. The goods and obligations of each party (a separate property belongs to this element);
6. Duration of marriage;
7. The ability of supporting spouses to gain employment without hindering the welfare of the children in their custody;
8. Age and health of the parties;
9. Domestic force is started by both;
10. Immediate tax consequences, if special;
11. Balance of labor as between spouses;
12. The purpose of self-sufficiency of the party supporters; and
13. Any criminal abuse convictions (this way can reduce or even remove the guarantee).
Half the length of the marriage is generally considered to be a reasonable amount of time for the spouse to acquire. But the court can only increase or decrease it according to other reasons. Also, for longer marriages (usually 10 years), the duration of spousal support could be much longer and potentially permanent.
As you can imagine, there are many more statutes that underpin the complexity of the California matrimonial laws. You can find these statutes in the California Family Code. The reasons written above have been paraphrased and abbreviated for this article. To read the exact language of the CA sponsor’s support, use the link below to read Section 4320.
Resources:
California Family Code, Sections 4320-4326
California Family Code Online
