Thousand Oaks Alimony Attorney

Alimony Attorney Thousand Oaks

Alimony or as many people call it “spousal support,” is paid by one divorcing or separating spouse (the payor) to the other spouse or domestic partner (the payee).

Despite the outdated and traditional ideas about who pays alimony, either you or your spouse can be obliged to pay spousal support by a California family court.

In the state of California, alimony may be awarded on a temporary or permanent basis. The main idea behind spousal support is to ease the lower-earning spouse’s financial burden following the divorce.

Typically, spousal support is awarded on a temporary basis during the divorce proceedings, and, after the divorce is finalized, the court considers whether to make alimony payments permanent.

If you are planning to file for divorce or the court has already ordered spousal support, you may want to speak to a Thousand Oaks alimony attorney at the Law Offices of Stephanie L. Mahdavi.

Let our family law attorneys advise you on how to increase or decrease an alimony award.

Types of Alimony in California

Generally, alimony is divided into two types: Temporary and permanent. Although California courts do not use some specific formula to calculate alimony payments, they do consider the 14 factors outlined in California Family Code Section 4320.

Based on these factors, the California court will decide whether to award a temporary or permanent alimony order. If the award is temporary, the court will decide on the length of time that the payee will receive the payments from the payor.

How Alimony is Determined and Calculated in California

As we have mentioned earlier, the courts rely on the 14 factors to determine alimony payments. While it may be tough to calculate the amount of monthly spousal support payments, a Thousand Oaks alimony attorney can help you get an approximate estimation.

The 14 factors that California family courts use when determining and calculating alimony are:

1. Each spouse’s earning potential
2. The higher-earning partner’s ability to pay spousal support
3. The needs of each spouse
4. The duration of marriage or partnership
5. The age of each spouse
6. The documented evidence of domestic violence, if any
7. The health of each spouse
8. The presence of any joint or individual debts
9. The tax impact of spousal support, both federal and state
10. Whether the lower-earning spouse assisted the higher-earning spouse in their career, professional training, or education
11. Whether the spouses’ career will affect their ability to care for the children
12. Whether the spouses’ career or education was affected by unemployment or the need to raise the children or perform household duties
13. The balance of the hardships to each partner
14. Whether the lower-earning spouse can become self-supporting within a reasonable period of time

The Length of Spousal Support

Based on the factors provided above, the court will determine when alimony payments should or can be terminated, if ever. Depending on the marital consequences, spousal support may be ordered for a “reasonable amount of time.”

In some cases, the obligation to pay supposal support for a lifetime or until remarriage is considered “reasonable.” For example, if you were married for ten or more years, you could be ordered to provide spousal support for the rest of your former spouse’s life or until he or she remarries.

If you were married to your spouse for nine or fewer years, the court might order alimony to continue for half the length of the marriage. Talk to our Thousand Oaks alimony attorney to estimate the amount and duration of spousal support in your case.

Contact Law Offices of Stephanie L. Mahdavi to schedule a consultation. Call at 805-379-4550 or complete our short contact form.