Helping You Understand the Financial Implications of Divorce
Deciding to end your marriage means legally separating your finances, including the property you’ve acquired during the marriage. However, other financial aspects must be considered, such as whether one spouse may be ordered to pay the other spousal support. Spousal support, or alimony as it’s also commonly called, is one of the challenging areas in a divorce. It doesn’t apply to every case, but when it does, there is often disagreement about how it should be ordered. Working with a family law attorney can give you the information you need to approach this issue with a clear understanding of the law and your rights.
Determining spousal support and whether it will apply to your situation can help you prepare for the future. Receiving spousal support can make it easier to establish yourself financially after divorce, and having to pay is a crucial budget consideration as you set up your new life. Attorney Gary S. Austin, Esq., can provide guidance and legal representation to ensure spousal support is fairly applied to your case.
What Is the Purpose of Spousal Support?
The primary purpose of spousal support is to ensure that one spouse is not penalized with a lower standard of living after the divorce just because they were financially dependent on the other spouse during the marriage. Consider this typical example:
A husband is the primary earner for the 30 years that a couple has been married. While the husband was getting his degree, the wife worked to contribute to the family finances but then became a stay-at-home mom to raise the couple’s three children and take care of the household. As the husband advanced in his career, the couple’s lifestyle increased, including a larger home, new cars, and yearly vacations.
In this scenario, the wife stands to lose quite a bit financially in the divorce. After decades out of the workforce, her ability to get a job and her subsequent earning potential is likely low, affecting her quality of life. Spousal support recognizes the wife’s contributions to the marriage and her husband’s ability to advance in his career in this scenario and ensures her quality of life can remain the same.
In other situations, spousal support may also be granted for a limited time to ensure that the economically disadvantaged spouse has enough income to be able to live while they get a job and establish financial independence.
When Does Spousal Support Apply in a Divorce Case?
Family Code Section 4320 provides for 14 factors to determine a permanent spousal support award or denial. But you ask, “What do those factors mean?” Great question. What they mean is they are the things that a judge looks at to determine how spousal support is calculated. These include:
- The earning capacity of each spouse
- How much the supported spouse contributes to the paying spouse’s ability to get an education
- Whether the supporting spouse has the financial ability to pay
- The standard of living held during the marriage
- The assets and debts of both spouses
- How long the marriage lasted
- Whether the supported spouse can earn an income without affecting their ability to care for any dependent children
- The age and overall health of both spouses
- Whether there has been a history of domestic violence
- The tax implications for both spouses
- What hardships either party has
- How long it may take the supported spouse to become self-sufficient
- Whether either spouse has a criminal conviction for abuse
- Any other factors that the court believes are relevant to the case
From this list, it’s clear that determining whether spousal support should apply in a divorce and for how much and for how long is a complex decision. An attorney can help you make a compelling argument to the judge.
What Is the Difference Between Temporary Spousal Support and Long-Term Spousal Support?
Spousal support can be awarded on a permanent basis or just for a short amount of time immediately after the divorce. Temporary spousal support is designed to cover the immediate needs of the spouse with the lower income or earning potential. However, it is generally only paid for a few months. In some cases, temporary spousal support may be awarded until the long-term support order can be finalized.
Long-term spousal support is more common in marriages that lasted a long time or where one spouse earns a lot more than the other. In some cases, the parties may be able to agree to a support amount, or there may be a prenuptial agreement in place with these terms already decided. Otherwise, the judge will need to make a decision. In most cases, the longer the marriage, the longer spousal support will be ordered for.
What Happens If Someone Refuses to Pay Court-Ordered Spousal Support?
Like child support, spousal support orders made by a judge are legally enforceable. If someone doesn’t make their payments on time or in full, it’s possible to ask the judge to order the payments to be directly and automatically taken out of the supporting party’s paychecks and distributed to the receiving party.
In situations where there is an outstanding balance of unpaid spousal support, the paying spouse may have to pay interest on that balance and can even be held in contempt of court, which can result in a fine or jail time.
How Can I Be Sure I’m Getting — or Paying — What’s Fair?
The best way to ensure that spousal support is fairly applied to your situation is to work with an experienced family law attorney. They can help you determine whether you may have to pay alimony or may be receiving payments from your spouse and educate you on what a fair amount may be.
If you’re getting divorced in Riverside County and you want to know how spousal support may play a role in your case, contact The Law Office of Gary S. Austin at 951-633-7995. You can sit down with an attorney to discuss your divorce proceedings and what you can do to protect your financial interests and ensure you get what you’re entitled to. Call today for a case evaluation.