Awarding Spousal Support

Unlike child support, an award of alimony, or “spousal support” (as it is called in California) is not mandatory and is awarded based on the facts of each case. Generally, so long as spouses are married and live together, they owe each other a duty of support. This is rarely enforced during marriage. Instead, the issue of support almost always occurs during divorce proceedings.

As the name implies, spousal support is generally only available to parties to a valid marriage. Unlike child support, spousal support is not governed by a uniform, state-wide guideline. Instead, spousal support is determined based on the varying facts of each case before the court. The court has discretion over how much spousal support or whether to order any payment of spousal support altogether, based on a variety of factors, including the parties' standard of living during marriage, the length of the parties' marriage, the requesting party’s need for it and the obligated party's ability to pay it.

Typically, at the beginning of the case, the court will award an amount of temporary or pendent lite spousal support. These orders are temporary in nature and cannot be used later as evidence in determining the amount of permanent spousal support following a trial.

The Goal of Spousal Support is to Make Sure the Supported Spouse Becomes Self-Supporting

The overall goal of an award of spousal support, as set forth in Family Code section 4320, is to make sure that the supported party “shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time.” In other words, an award of spousal support is not a guarantee of a lifetime pension from the obligated party. The court has jurisdiction to modify and terminate spousal support so long as the court’s discretion complies with the statutory framework set forth in section 4320 of the Family Law Code. As a rule of thumb, a “reasonable period of time” in which an obligated party must pay spousal support is one-half the length of the marriage. For marriages of ten years or more (known under the Family Law Code as “long-term marriages”), however, the “one-half the length of marriage” baseline does not apply, meaning the court has complete discretion over how long the supporting party has to pay spousal support.

Grounds for Terminating Spousal Support

If a party receiving spousal support remarries, or is shown to be cohabiting with another person who is assisting with their living expenses, this can be grounds to terminate spousal support. Spousal support also terminates upon the death of the receiving party.

Certain Court-Ordered Payments Can Be Substituted for Spousal Support Payments

If a party is ordered by the court to pay certain household expense or other community debts, this can be considered as a payment in lieu of spousal support so long as the party continues making those payments.

• Contact Us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your potential spousal support case or whether you will be obligated to pay spousal support.