Everything You Need To Know About Spousal Support In California

It is designed to help the receiving spouse maintain a standard of living similar to what they had during the marriage, particularly when there is a significant disparity in income or earning capacity between the spouses.

In California, the technical term Spousal Support refers to legal separation cases between two individuals. It is, in short, the financial support that one spouse is legally bound to provide the other. 

When the separation between two individuals is in process, with the active engagement and vigilance of the apex legal authority, a couple of elements are considered. They include the custody of the children and the division of the shared property. 

The entire legal proceedings are steeped in their complexities. One of these key elements is deciding whether spousal support is required. There are complexities to it, so you need to gather thorough knowledge. 

If you are considering such a decision, you should consider legal counseling. Let’s gather knowledge on this subject in this article.

What Factors Contribute To Spousal Support

When a court case on divorce gets underway, the court orders one of the spouses to pay the Alimony. They consider many factors before asking for spousal support. Let’s take a look at them here in this section. The court takes into account some very important points like:

• The health of both parties.
• The age of both the parties involved.
• The duration of their marriage.
• The financial ability of the payee.
• Evidence of domestic violence.
• Whether the party seeking Alimony sacrificed their career to safeguard the interest of the other partners.

This is why the court takes time to decide on spousal support considering the nitty-gritty and diving deep into these factors.

If you have to know about these factors in detail, you can visit the website of a bona fide and reputed law firm or contact them physically. It is always better to have a clear idea of the basics.  

Types Of Spousal Support

Spousal support in California is generally of two types, temporary spousal, and Permanent spousal support. 

Temporary Spousal Support

Temporary spousal support is a court order which orders one spouse to provide temporary financial assistance to another spouse for a short tie. While the case is underway, the judge considers various factors to understand its appropriateness.  

The spouse with less income often asks for financial support; in that case, the court gives the final verdict on the plea. 

In general, the spouse with less income will receive the payments. It also depends on the capability of the other spouse’s financial situation. 

The Long-Term Spousal Support

When the court verdict on the divorce is decided, then the court may ask for long-term spousal support. It is generally a monthly payment lasting for many years. 

Long-term spousal support is common when the marriage relationship lasts significantly longer. Here one spouse’s income is significantly higher compared to the other spouse. 

If the marriage lasts ten years, the support tenure lasts five years. But when the marriage lasts more than ten years, the support then you can not assume the tenure of support. 

The court order will finalize it. The judge also decides on the ability and time of the receiving spouse to become self-sufficient or self-supporting.

Who Gets the Support In California?

Do you think you will get it whenever you ask for spousal support from the court? The answer is NO.  

Under California law, the court can not offer spousal support to an individual who has been convicted of offenses like:

• Sexual Assault.
• Physical Violence.
• Domestic violence.
• Felony against children.

Hence you need to have a fair track record of having the support. Therefore all that you need is to follow strong laws and regulations. 

You must have a track record free from misdemeanor or spousal support to get financial support. 

The judges consider these factors when dividing on spousal support. Hence, now you understand that receiving spousal support is not easy. There is more than meets the eye. 

So, to ensure that your case is navigating successfully, seek guidance from experts like Bakersfield Family Lawyer. They are experienced and can offer you specialized services to get the spousal support order in your favor.

Experienced law firms have tons of experience handling these cases and can guide you well on the subject. 

The Calculation Of The Spousal Support

Now let us come to one of the most important sections: spousal support calculations. The court can not arbitrarily decide the spousal support calculation. 

The judges follow a mechanism to calculate it based on a formula. Firstly they thoroughly study the assets and liabilities of both parties involved in the case.

They calculate the spousal support based on a specific formula. Most courts follow a common one here. Here they subtract 40% of the net monthly income of the higher income from 50% of the lower-earning spouse’s income. The difference that evolves out of the calculations is the final amount one must pay. 

Let us consider an example here. Suppose the net income of one spouse is $10000. After deducting forty percent of the amount, it is $4000. 

Now another individual net income is $4000, the 50% of the money aggregates to be $2000. The subtraction of both amounts becomes $2000. It is the amount that one spouse has to pay the other.

FAQ: What Is The Difference Between Spousal Support And Alimony?

Often a question gets raised, or people need clarification about both terms. In general terms, most people use the latter one. In most states in the USA, they call it Alimony. But when the cases are discussed in the periphery of California, it is called spousal support. 

Hence, you can say that there is no basic difference between the terms. In California, both the terms are used interchangeably. 

Bringing The Discussion To A Close

Spousal support is generally the money a higher-income spouse pays the lower-income spouse. These laws help an individual from getting financial support when both individuals are processing divorce cases in a court. 

Any separation is unfortunate; it takes millions of thoughts before parting off. Hence as a common citizen, you must have an idea of it. Discuss the laws with the help of an expert law firm.