California Spousal Support: How Much, When It Starts and Ends

When spousal support starts, ends, and the amount can be agreed upon or ordered by a judge. It’s meant to try to even out the incomes of spouses or domestic partners while they live apart. They may want to live separately or plan on divorcing or ending their partnership. Spousal support can be temporary or permanent and starts through an agreement or a court proceeding. Like other family law court orders, spousal support can change with the circumstances. The spousal support Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC helps clients with spousal support issues.

The Rancho Cucamonga spousal support Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC’s Rancho Cucamonga spousal support lawyers will protect your rights, whether you’re seeking support or trying to limit or prevent paying it. Call Taylor B. Warner today at (909) 466-5575 or complete our contact form to schedule an initial consultation with a spousal support attorney and get the legal advice and representation you need.

Spousal Support’s Goal is Financial Fairness

It’s unusual for spouses or partners to have equal incomes and financial circumstances when splitting up, during a divorce, or after it’s finalized. Evening out the situation is usually accomplished through negotiation and will be done through a court hearing if necessary. The spousal support Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC are committed advocates who will work for you throughout the process.

California law sets out how separate or former spouses can make their financial circumstances more equal. A court may order one party to pay the other money. This can be temporary and during the divorce process. It can also be part of a finalized divorce order when the support can be for a set time or indefinitely. That amount and duration may change over time as circumstances change.

The division of marital assets can influence the amount of support. A spouse may agree to lower support payments or for a shorter time in exchange for more assets or less responsibility for marital debts.

How Spousal Support is Determined

Chapter 4320 of the California Family Code lists circumstances to be considered when a judge determines whether to award spousal support, the amount, and for how long. These factors include the extent to which each party’s earning capacity is enough to maintain the marriage’s standard of living, taking into account the following:

• The supported party’s marketable skills
• The job market for those skills
• The time and cost needed by the supported party to acquire an appropriate education or training to develop those skills
• The possible need for education or retraining to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment
• The extent the supported party’s present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment incurred during the marriage to allow the supported party to spend on domestic duties

Other factors include the following:

• The extent to which the supported party contributed to the supporting party’s education, training, career, or license
• The supporting party’s ability to pay spousal support, given their earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living
• Each party’s needs based on the marriage’s standard of living
• Each party’s financial obligations and assets
• The marriage’s duration
• The supported party’s ability to have gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in their custody
• The parties’ ages and health
• Documented evidence of domestic violence between the parties or perpetrated by either party against either party’s child
• Tax consequences
• Balancing each party’s hardships
• The supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable time. Except if it’s a long marriage, a reasonable time would generally be half the length of the marriage. This is in the court’s discretion, given the other factors to be considered
• An abusive spouse’s criminal conviction shall be considered when reducing or eliminating a spousal support award

The court must consider each point in the law, and their decision can be affected by the arguments made by a Rancho Cucamonga spousal support attorney. The judge can add other “just and equitable” factors and how to weigh each one.

How Spousal Support Can Change

Several events could lead to spousal support changes, including that it end:

• An end date is agreed upon
• The supported spouse remarries
• The court ends spousal support
• One of the spouses dies

Spousal support can change if either spouse petitions the court and shows a substantial change in circumstances. It may benefit or be detrimental to either party.

Trust Rancho Cucamonga Spousal Support Lawyer Taylor B. Warner with Your Case

You may receive, or need to pay, spousal support before, during, and after the divorce process. The legislature created a list of considerations a judge must think about when issuing a ruling. Spousal support orders can change over time and as circumstances evolve.

Whether you and the other party are seeking or contesting the payment of spousal support, a Rancho Cucamonga spousal support lawyer can give you the information and clarity you need. Contact the spousal support Law Office of Taylor B. Warner, APLC, because we understand the complexities and emotions behind spousal support matters. You may also call us at (909) 466-5575.