Spousal Support
Spousal Support

Spousal Support

In California, a marriage that endures for 10 years or more is considered a long-term marriage for purposes of spousal support.  In a divorce involving a long-term marriage, the court is required to retain jurisdiction over the issue of spousal support unless both parties desire to waive that requirement.

There are two types of spousal support in California cases.  The first is called pendente lite (pronounced pen.den.tay lee.tay) or temporary support.  This type of support is ordered for the period of time from the commencement of the dissolution process up until the matter is resolved by judgment.  The goal of temporary support is to maintain the status quo of the parties as close to that which they enjoyed during marriage as is possible.  This, in actuality, is rarely possible, because during marriage the parties usually have only one household to support and, once separated, there are usually two houses to now support.   The court will assess the needs of the party who asks for support against the ability of the other party to pay and will attempt to balance the hardships presented to each party.

The second type of spousal support is permanent support.  This type of support is ordered at the time the matter is finalized and runs for a period of time after the divorce has finalized.  The court will consider the needs involved, the abilities to pay, whether someone has been unemployed for a period of time (perhaps caring for children), whether any party has a disability, the length of the marriage, the age of the parties, and other circumstances.

A former spouse receiving spousal support should be aware that cohabitating with another individual (generally in a romantic setting) can act as a catalyst to have their support payments reduced or even terminated due to the fact that their need for support may be reduced due to the financial assistance of the new cohabitating partner.  Remarriage will almost always terminate a spousal support order.

For a free 30-minute consultation, please email us or call (949) 252-9321 or (949) 713-3817.
News about Spousal Support
  • Dodgers owner says wife doesn't need $1M support (AP via Yahoo! Sports)
    •       Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said Tuesday his estranged wife doesn't need nearly $1 million a month in temporary support because she has assets worth more than $75 million. McCourt wants a judge to deny a request made last month by Jamie McCourt, the Dodgers former CEO, who wants about $9 ...»
  • Dodgers owner says wife doesn't need $1M support (San Diego Union-Tribune)
    •       Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said Tuesday his estranged wife doesn't need nearly $1 million a month in temporary support because she has assets worth more than $75 million. ...»
  • Dodgers owner says his estranged wife doesn't deserve of nearly $1M in support (Kitchener - Waterloo Record)
    •       LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said Tuesday his estranged wife doesn't need nearly US$1 million a month in temporary support because she has assets worth more than $75 million. ...»
  • Prenuptial agreements: Unromantic, but important (USA Today)
    •       Prenups tackle real estate, division of assets and spousal support in case of divorce or separation. And more of them are being drafted. ...»
  • Support Groups (The Spectrum)
    •       LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program ...»
  • Wife seeks $1M monthly from Dodgers owner (CBC.ca)
    •       Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said Tuesday his estranged wife doesn't need nearly $1 million US a month in temporary support because she has assets worth more than $75 million. ...»
  • Uncle Sam has no wedding gift of benefits for same-sex couples (Washington Post)
    •       When Lorilyn "Candy" Holmes and Darlene Garner get married Tuesday, it will be a joyous and historic occasion. ...»
  • Wife overwhelmed by abuse (Kingston Whig-Standard)
    •       Dear Robin:I read your column everyday. For some time now my husband and I have been having problems and I'm finding it overwhelming. My husband has been emotionally abusing me for most of our relationship and I've finally had enough.[...] ...»
  • Quebec billionaire's partner launches challenge for alimony (Toronto Star)
    •       They like to call it a "free union," but common-law partnerships in Quebec might also be considered free from obligations or responsibilities. ...»
  • Grain News (Grainnet.com)
    •       One hundred thirty three producers from ASA's 25 state affiliates served as Voting Delegates in this annual process that guides the ASA as it pursues future initiatives to improve U.S. soybean farmer profitability. ...»
    Spousal Articles from Justia BlawgSearch
  • iPhone App Reveals Spousal Spying
    •       A new application developed for iPhone - ironically called iTrust - records the keystrokes of an unwitting interloper when the application is activated. ...»
  • Spousal Liability for Nursing Home bills
    •       Cape Cod Today had an article posted by attorney Bruce Bierhans about the recent decision involving a nursing home suing the wife of a resdient for bills including making her sell her house to pay for his bills. I don't believe this decision will stand. Hopefully, the appeals court will get it right ...»
  • 1st DCA: How specific does a premarital agreement have to be to defeat a surviving spouse's claims?
    •       Taylor v. Taylor, --- So.2d ----, 2009 WL 186155 (Fla. 1st DCA Jan 28, 2009) I wrote here in 2006 about an "ambiguous" premarital agreement that the 3d DCA held was a valid waiver of a widow's marital rights under F.S. ยง 732.702. Here's the clause at the center of the 3d DCA case: "It is [husband's ...»
  • Arizona Family Law
    •       Arizona family law firm. Divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, spousal maintenance, visitation, community property, grandparents rights. ...»
  • San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Calculation of Temporary versus Long Term Spousal Support
    •       San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses Calculation of Temporary versus Long Term Spousal Support Under the Family Code, temporary support may be ordered in any amount based upon the party's need and the payor's ability to pay while a divorce is pending. Generally, the purpose of temporary spousal suppo ...»
  • Men Receiving Alimony Want A Little Respect
    •       Modern Males Say Living Off the Ex-Wife Is No Cause for Shame As a Hollywood actor, John David Castellanos is protective of his image. He stays in phenomenal shape and looks much younger than his 50 years. But he admits to a fact that might be considered unflattering: He receives alimony from his fo ...»
  • San Jose Family Attorney Discusses Grounds for Termination of Spousal Support
    •       San Jose Family Attorney Discusses Grounds for Termination of Spousal Support Unless the parties have otherwise agreed in writing, a court-ordered spousal support obligation terminates upon either party's death or the supported party's remarriage. Said spousal support termination is self-executing, ...»
  • San Jose Family Law Attorney Discusses the Change of Circumstances Requirement Necessary to Obtain a Modification of a Spousal Support Order
    •       San Jose Divorce Attorney Discusses the Change of Circumstances Requirement Necessary to Obtain a Modification of a Spousal Support Order The change of circumstances necessary to obtain a modification of a spousal support order are the same as those the Court considers in making the initial long-ter ...»
  • San Jose Divorce Attorney Talks about the Pitfalls of Temporary Reconciliation of Marriage
    •       Society, religion, and even Republicans tell everyone that marriage is a good thing and we should all strive to work things outs in hopes of saving a marriage. However, the California Family Code is not so supportive of the couple who tried to work things out and but still ends up in divorce. The ma ...»
  • Florida's spousal elective share statute survives constitutional challenge
    •       In re Estate of Magee, --- So.2d ----, 2007 WL 2781131 (Fla. 2d DCA Sep 26, 2007) When all else fails, one way to win a probate dispute is to challenge the portion of the probate code at issue on constitutional grounds. A successful example of this approach was the Florida Supreme Court's 1990 decis ...»
  • Florida's spousal elective share statute survives constitutional challenge
    •       In re Estate of Magee, --- So.2d ----, 2007 WL 2781131 (Fla. 2d DCA Sep 26, 2007) When all else fails, one way to win a probate dispute is to challenge the portion of the probate code at issue on constitutional grounds. A successful example of this approach was the Florida Supreme Court's 1990 decis ...»
  • O.C. spousal support case may set precedent
    •       Yorba Linda man says he shouldn't have to pay spousal support because ex-wife is in domestic partnership. A Yorba Linda man has taken his spousal-support fight to the state Court of Appeals, saying he shouldn't have to pay his ex-wife $1,250 a month when she has entered a domestic partnership with h ...»
  • Lateral thinking + probate litigation = success
    •       Marlowe v. Brown, 944 So.2d 1036 (Fla. 4th DCA Aug 02, 2006) Being an effective probate litigator often requires lateral thinking -- the generation of novel solutions to problems using other than straightforward, step-by-step logic. The point of lateral thinking... ...»
  • Judge: Ex still due alimony when she becomes he
    •       A woman's sex change operation does not free her ex-husband from his alimony obligation, a judge said Wednesday. Attorneys for Lawrence Roach, 48, had argued his 55-year-old ex-wife's decision to switch genders and change her name from Julia to Julio Roberto Silverwolf voided their 2004 divorce agre ...»
  • Court says NO to appeal of spousal-elective-share order
    •       Trenchard v. Gray, --- So.2d ----, 2007 WL 837294 (Fla. 2d DCA Mar 21, 2007) In Dempsey v. Dempsey (a 2005 opinion I wrote about here) the 2d DCA ruled on when elective share orders are subject to appeal. Under Florida Probate... ...»
  • Women Increasingly Paying Alimony
    •       The picture of equality looks awfully strange to Kim Shamsky. The 47-year-old business owner pays her ex, a 65-year-old retired Major League Baseball player, thousands per month in temporary spousal support. He's not seeking alimony to help pay for the kids' birthday parties, since they don't have c ...»
  • In Divorce Proceedings, Sideways Director Alexander Payne Files A Response Refusing To Pay Spousal Support To Actress Sandra Oh
    •       Writer-director Alexander Payne does not want to pay his ex-wife, actress Sandra Oh, spousal support. In his response to her divorce claim, he is asking a court to deny the Grey's Anatomy star her request for spousal support. The couple was officially divorced last December, but they have not yet se ...»
  • Can you accidentally create an "Elective Share Trust" under Florida law? Probably NOT
    •       Janien v. Janien, 2006 WL 2956304 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct 18, 2006)Under Florida law a surviving widow or widower is entitled to at least 30% of the decedent spouse's estate. If done properly, an "elective share trust" allows a person... ...»
     
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