Spousal Support

Advocating for Your Financial Well Being.

 

Getting a divorce or otherwise separating from someone who you used to consider your significant half presents one with unprecedented emotional, legal, and financial adversity. In such cases, the issue of spousal support can be a hotly contested topic for divorcing spouses.

To better understand the nature and extent of your legal rights and duties concerning the provision of spousal support after leaving your former spouse, the prudent course of action would be to consult an experienced spousal support lawyer in Riverside County for quality legal advice. At Hanson, Bradford & Hanich you have access to a remarkable wealth of legal knowledge and experience to help you get through the challenges of getting a divorce.

California Spousal Support Issues.

All spouses owe each other a duty to provide one another with adequate financial support throughout their marriage. While this duty may not apply after a couple gets divorced, the law recognizes a similar legal duty that their separation and eventual dissolution of marriage.

Although a couple has initiated divorce proceedings by filing a petition for the dissolution of marriage with a California court, they are still legally married. Therefore, the duty to provide spousal support continues to apply to some degree.

At the end of divorce proceedings, after a court legally declares the parties’ marriage to be dissolved, a party who may have been financially disadvantaged by the divorce may be entitled to some monetary support from their former spouse. As a result, the relevancy of spousal support can continue to loom over divorcees for a long time.

In California, spousal support can come in different forms:

  • Interim spousal support: When spouses begin divorce proceedings, California courts may order temporary spousal support pending trial. The purpose of ordering interim spousal support is to preserve the status quo of the parties while they litigate their divorce. This helps ensure that separation does not impair one spouse’s ability to defend against or prosecute legal claims during divorce proceedings.

  • Spousal support for short-term marriages: Under the California Family Code, courts may order one spouse to provide future financial support to their former spouse for a reasonable time, so that the supported spouse has an opportunity to become financially independent. For marriages that last less than 10 years, it is reasonable for a spousal support award to remain in effect for up to half the length of the parties’ marriage.

  • Spousal support for long-term marriages: When the parties’ marriage lasted for 10 years or more, California courts have continuing jurisdiction to resolve issues of spousal support. In some cases, an award for spousal support may be indefinite.

Factors for Determining Spousal Support.

 

Under California Family Code § 4320, a court is required to consider several factors when resolving matters concerning spousal support. The factors outlined in Section 4320 do not represent an exhaustive list for determining spousal support issues. In fact, courts may consider additional factors in the interests of justice.

Some of the factors that courts must evaluate per Family Code § 4320, include:

  • The length of the marriage

  • Each spouse’s financial resources

  • The financial obligations of each spouse

  • The earning capacity of each spouse

  • The reasonable goal of the supported spouse to become financially self-supporting

  • The standard of living the parties enjoyed while married

  • The parent’s responsibilities for childcare

We Provide Experienced Counsel for Spousal Support Issues in Riverside County.

Do you need professional legal representation from a licensed attorney in California with experience in family law cases like spousal support? If so, you should call Hanson, Bradford & Hanich to discuss your case with one of our dedicated alimony attorneys. With offices in Riverside County, we are ready to support the needs of families in Southern California.