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Seeking Alimony Or Spousal Support Payments In California?

Orange County Divorce Attorneys Discuss Options

California alimony, also known as spousal support or maintenance, provides temporary or permanent payments from one spouse to the other after a divorce.

Spousal support, also known as alimony or maintenance, provides payments from one spouse to the other following a divorce to maintain financial stability. If one party makes significantly more money than the other, he or she may be required to pay monthly spousal support to the other. Calculating California alimony payments is a complicated process that depends on many factors, and it helps to have an idea of how much you might expect to owe or receive before you begin divorce proceedings.

Orange County Family Law Associates help people going through divorce find answers to all the questions they have about their family’s future. At no cost to you, you can meet with us and find out what you can expect to happen with your child’s living situation, your marital property and other complex issues. Please look over our list of materials to bring with you so we can provide the most helpful assistance.

Call our Irvine family law attorneys today at (949) 397-6649. We look forward to helping you.

Orange County Family Law Associates Is the Right Choice

At our firm, we have highly-trained and qualified lawyers who have experience with all areas of family law and are both eager and willing to help.

Factors for Deciding California Alimony Payments

If you and your spouse cannot agree to a fair amount of spousal support, the court will weigh a number of factors before deciding on a figure. 

These include:

  • Can each party’s earning capacity sustain the standard of living attained during the marriage?
  • The assets and needs of each party in relation to maintaining the standard of living during the marriage
  • Whether or not one spouse helped the other obtain a job, training classes or educational opportunities
  • The paying spouse’s available resources
  • Length of the marriage
  • The parent receiving support’s ability to raise a child while staying employed
  • Age and health conditions of each spouse, including any documented history of domestic abuse
  • Potential hardships that each spouse might likely encounter
  • Will the amount allow the receiving spouse to eventually become independently self-supporting?
  • Other factors that might be worth considering, according to the court’s opinion

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How Long Does Spousal Support Last in California?

The trend in California and states across the county is to provide spousal support on a temporary basis. It is very rare, but still possible for long-term marriages, to receive permanent spousal support. In most cases, California family law courts will order spousal support to continue for half the length of the marriage. If you were married for 20 years, you or your spouse would likely owe spousal support for 10 years, though this is not set in stone.

If you were married for longer than 10 years, you can modify spousal support during those years if circumstances change (one party gets a substantial promotion or sustains a paralyzing injury, for example). However, if you were married for less than 10 years, the court no longer has jurisdiction after the decision is made. That means you must pay the amount ordered for those years, and the court cannot intervene.

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