Spousal support can be important to the spouse who needs it but can also be an important concern for the spouse from whom spousal support is being requested. Because spousal support is a significant issue in many divorces, divorcing couples should know how spousal support is calculated in California.
Factors use to calculate spousal support
There are several factors used to calculate spousal support including:
- The length of the marriage or domestic partnership;
- The needs of each of the spouses or partners based on the standard of living established during the marriage or domestic partnership;
- What each spouse or partner contributes or can contribute, including earnings and earning capacity, to maintain the standard of living they enjoyed during the marriage or domestic partnership;
- Whether the recipient spouse or partner also having a job would make it too difficult to take care of their children;
- The age and health of both spouses or domestic partners;
- The debts and property of the spouses or partners;
- Whether one spouse or domestic partner helped the other obtain education, training, career or a professional license;
- Whether the career of the spouse or domestic partner was impacted by unemployment or remaining at home to care for the children;
- Whether there was domestic violence in the marriage or domestic partnership; and
- The tax impact of spousal support.
Once established, spousal support can end in several different ways. Ways spousal support may end can include if a court order or judgment ends, if one of the spouses or partners dies or if the recipient spouse or partner remarries or registers a new domestic partnership. Couples entering the divorce process may wonder about spousal support and should be familiar with how it is established and how it may end.