One party may be entitled to SPOUSAL SUPPORT, following separation or divorce. The court determines who receives spousal support and how much. There is no state-wide formula as there is with calculating child support. Each county has its own method of calculating spousal support.
According to California Family Code Section 4320, a judge must consider the following factors when issuing the final judgment for support/alimony:
- Each person’s needs
- Each person’s earnings, earning capacity, and what s/he is able to pay
- The length of the marriage or domestic partnership
- The age and mental and physical well-being of each party
- Property owned and debts owed
- The needs of any minor children
- Any history of domestic violence in the relationship
- Whether the career of one partner or spouse has been affected by having to stay at home with the children
- The contributions of one spouse in helping the other build a career
- Each person’s history of managing money during the marriage or domestic partnership
Once the judge issues the final judgment for support, monthly payments can continue until:
- One of the spouses or partners becomes deceased
- The person obtaining support remarries or files for domestic partnership with a new partner
- A judgment or court order terminates the support
Should the circumstances of either party change after the judgment, a request may be made to modify support. A judge would review that same factors listed above.
If the former spouse is not paying court order spousal support, the receiving spouse can file for contempt of a court order.
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