Alimony and Spousal Support in California

A judge may order temporary spousal support while the case is pending and long-term support in the judgment. There is no math formula for long-term support; the judge must consider the Family Code section 4320 factors, including the length of the marriage, age and health, incomes and earning capacity, the marital standard of living, property and debts, contributions to the other spouse's education or career, need and ability to pay, tax effects, any history of abuse, and the impact of child care on careers. As a starting assumption, support for marriages under 10 years lasts about half the length of the marriage; for marriages over 10 years there is no set assumption. Support ends on an agreed date, by court order, on the supported spouse's remarriage, or on either spouse's death.

California is a community property state. Unless the spouses agree otherwise, the court divides the community estate equally. Community property is generally what either spouse earned or acquired, and debts taken on, during the marriage before the date of separation; property acquired while living outside California that would have been community property is treated the same (quasi-community property). Separate property is what each spouse owned before marriage or after separation, plus gifts and inheritances received at any time and anything bought with separate property. In general, each spouse keeps their separate property and the community property is split.