California Divorce Guide: Answers To Divorce Questions

Answers To Divorce Questions
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Two issues arise with regard to spousal support:

The amount of spousal support and the duration of spousalsupport.

The duration of spousal support is closely linked to thelength of the marriage. Frequently, practitioners speak ofthe 'rule of thumb' that spousal support will last forone-half the length of the marriage.

The duration of spousal support is left to the sounddiscretion of the court within certain general equitableprincipals and guidelines most often set forth in the commonlaw case histories. However, in marriages of less than tenyears, the statute provides a presumption that supportshould be granted for half the length of the marriage. 

The California legislator has enacted a statute whichindicates that when permanent support is established at thetime of trial, it is an abuse of discretion for the court toset a future termination date if the marriage is of lengthyduration. The statute goes on to indicate that any marriageof ten years in duration is considered a lengthy marriage.

As a practical matter, in the late 1990s it appears thatspousal support duration is linked to a transition periodfrom married life to single life. The circumstances varyfrom person-to-person, but the courts tend to disfavor"lifetime support."

The court has a broad discretion in ascertaining theamount of spousal support as well as its duration.. SomeCalifornia counties have adopted a guideline which suggeststhe appropriate range of spousal support on a temporarybasis. Many counties do not allow the guideline to be thesole indicator of the amount of permanent spousal support.California State law provides that spousal support isdetermined by a careful review of a number of factors. Thecontrolling statute states as follows:

4320. In ordering spousal support under this part, the court shallconsider all of the following circumstances:

(a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party issufficient to maintain the standard of living established during themarriage, taking into account all of the following:

(1) The marketable skills of the supported party; the job marketfor those skills; the time and expenses required for the supportedparty to acquire the appropriate education or training to developthose skills; and the possible need for retraining or education toacquire other, more marketable skills or employment.

(2) The extent to which the supported party's present or futureearning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that wereincurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote
time to domestic duties.

(b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to theattainment of an education, training, a career position, or a licenseby the supporting party.

(c) The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support,taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earnedand unearned income, assets, and standard of living. 

(d) The needs of each party based on the standard of livingestablished 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 gainfulemployment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependentchildren in the custody of the party.

(h) The age and health of the parties.

(i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, asdefined in Section 6211, between the parties, including, but notlimited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting fromdomestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by thesupporting party, and consideration of any history of violenceagainst 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-supportingwithin a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriageof long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable periodof time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half thelength of the marriage. However, nothing in this section isintended to limit the court's discretion to order support for agreater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factorslisted in this section, Section 4336, and the circumstances of theparties.

(m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall beconsidered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal supportaward in accordance with Section 4325.

(n) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable. If you live in Southern California, and would like advice about answers to divorce questions or other family law or estate planning issues, please setup an initial divorce consultation today.

Would you like to know more about answers to divorce questions? The attorneys of the Law Offices Of Aaron Dishon, in Irvine, California are experienced professionals that will guide you through the divorce process and help you get the results you deserve. Mr. Dishon is a Certified Family Law Specialist.

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