Spousal Support in California

Family Code Section 4320 is a provision of California law that outlines the factors a court must consider when determining spousal support (alimony) in divorce cases. These factors include, but are not limited to:

1. The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account the marketable skills of the supported party and the job market for those skills.

2. The extent to which the supported party contributed to the education, training, career position, or licenses of the supporting party.

3. The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.

4. The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage. 5. The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.

6. The duration of the marriage.

7. The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.

8. The age and health of the parties.

9. Any history of domestic violence between the parties.

10. Tax consequences to each party. These factors are used by the court to make a fair and just determination of spousal support based on the circumstances of the case.

The above factors are for permanent spousal support. In California and including Los Angeles County there are two types of spousal support, permanent and temporary. Temporary spousal support usually uses a software program called the Dissomaster which calculates spousal support based on an input of the gross income (the software then determines your net income- think of turbo tax combined with a support calculator) and provides us with a temporary number. Temporary spousal support is to get you through the legal process and to trial. At trial, the court must use the above factors to determine spousal support and is not allowed to use the software program, the Dissomaster.

If you need assistance evaluating California Family Code Section 4320 contact https://www.familylaw-firm.com