​Getting Support

The law requires parents to support their children and spouses to support each other. If a parent does not provide care through physical custody, they will be ordered to pay child support if the other parent requests it or receives cash aid from the government. When people marry, they agree to care for one another. At least that is how the law sees it. Even if one spouse does not care for the other, that spouse is still entitled to be supported.

​* Nothing on this page is legal advice, neither does it create an attorney-client relationship of any sort. The material contained here is for informational purposes only. Contact us for real legal advice and an opportunity to form a relationship with great attorneys.

​Supporting the Kids

The law primarily bases child support on a few things: (1) the custody percentage the parents have, (2) the respective income of the parents, and (3) any hardships claimed by either parent.  There is a program that calculates child support.  The amount calculated by the program is considered "guideline" support.  Guideline will typically be the amount that a parent has to pay in support; however, knowledge of the law and facts may be able to have that amount increased or decreased.  The Allison Family Law Center has experience getting support orders that are in the best interest of our clients and their children.

​Spousal Support in the Meantime

The court can order that one spouse supports the other spouse, no matter how long the two have been married.  In ordering temporary spousal support, the court considers three things: (1) the standard of living the couple had while married, (2) the need of the poorer spouse to get to the marital standard of living, and (3) the ability of the other spouse to pay the support needed to get the poorer spouse closer to the marital standard of living. 

​Temporary spousal support is ordered on two occasions: marriage of short duration or marriage of long duration that does not have a permanent support order. 

A marriage of short duration is generally a marriage under ten years.  A marriage that is longer than ten year is typically considered a marriage of long duration.  For short duration marriages, the court typically orders support for half the length the marriage.  For marriages of long duration, the court can order spousal support be paid indefinitely.  The court may use the same program it uses for child support when deciding the temporary spousal support amount.

​Gaining Independence

Marriages of long duration may result in orders for indefinite spousal support.  This means that unless the spouse remarries or the court changes the order, one spouse can be ordered to pay the other spouse until the supported spouse dies.  The court is not allowed to use the program to determine permanent spousal support, it must consider a number of factors that are outlined in Family code section 4320. 

The purpose of permanent spousal support is to make the parties as whole as they would be if they stayed married.  When one spouse devotes their life to raising children and maintaining the home, that spouse misses out on working and keeping up with the market.  If that spouse gets divorced, then they will be at as great a disadvantage as the length of their marriage.  Meanwhile, the other spouse has been promoted several times, built a retirement and reputation, gained intricate knowledge of their profession, and is in a much better financial position than the spouse who devoted their life to the home. 

​Of course this person has worked hard and should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor, especially if they no longer get the benefit of the support at home, but the spouse that stayed home may be far less equipped to make up the difference.  This is why a skilled lawyer could be instrumental in getting you the spousal support order that either gets you the help you need to gain independence or the protection you need from a spouse seeking an excessive amount of spousal support.