Guide to Support Guidelines, Part 2: Spousal Support

Many spouses struggle with the idea of paying their spouse support after the marriage has ended.

California is a no-fault divorce system, but the concept of spousal support dates back to when all divorces required fault. If the husband were at fault, he was required to continue supporting the wife, since women did not work and could not own property. This idea was maintained in American law as a form of punishment for the spouse considered at fault for the divorce.

Now, the purpose of spousal support has changed from being a punishment to being a way for each spouse to reintegrate themselves into single life as easily as possible. The purpose of spousal support is to allow a party who earns less to become self-sustaining gradually. Spousal support also serves to recognize the receiving spouse’s contribution to the marriage while assisting them towards financial independence.

There are two forms of spousal support, temporary and permanent. Temporary spousal support can be granted from the time of filing for divorce until judgment is entered. There are no guidelines specifically for temporary spousal support, but courts generally look at the same guidelines as are required for permanent support. However, the process is highly discretionary.

When a court awards permanent spousal support, there are ten statutory guidelines that they must consider. These guidelines include things like each party’s ability to maintain the marital standard of living considering their earning potential; the ability to pay spousal support; the debt obligations of each party; the length of the marriage; the age and health of the parties; and several other factors. If you would like to see all of the factors, you can find them at Section 4320 of the California Family Code.

As with child support, there is a computer program that can calculate how much spousal support is owed based on factors such as the income of each party versus their expenses. However, the court is prohibited from relying on the computer calculation alone; it must consider each of the ten factors from Section 4320 on the record.

How long spousal support continues typically depends on whether the marriage was short term or long term. A marriage is considered short term when the parties were married less than 10 years. When a marriage is short term, spousal support will usually be given for half the length of the marriage. When a marriage is long term, the judge does not set an end date for spousal support at the time the divorce is granted. Spousal support does end when the receiving spouse remarries or either spouse dies.

When using mediation, all of the above is flexible and subject to the agreements of the parties. If the parties both want to waive spousal support permanently, they can do so. This means that California will no longer have the jurisdiction, or the power, to grant spousal support between the parties in the future.

Parties can also choose to waive support but maintain California jurisdiction, set an end date even if they had a long term marriage, or any other arrangement that is agreeable to both parties.