Spousal Support

Southern California Divorce Attorney

Spousal support, also referred to as alimony, is the amount of financial assistance available to a spouse during and after a divorce. Courts calculate this by using a variety of factors. At the Law Offices of William M. Strachan, located in Huntington Beach, California, we represent people in spousal support disputes throughout the state.

We represent both sides of a dispute, helping a spouse either maximize or minimize the amount of support the court awards. For a free initial consultation about your divorce, contact us at the Law Offices of William M. Strachan.

Temporary support is available to some spouses during the duration of a divorce proceeding. Either spouse can petition the court for this financial assistance. The court will then determine how much support is appropriate. You must demonstrate to the court that you have a financial need for support and your spouse has the ability to pay.

At the time of trial the court will make an order for spousal support by considering a number of factors.  In long term marriages, spousal support will often continue until a court terminates the support, a spouse dies, or a spouse remarries. Some of the factors the courts use to determine spousal support include:

• The marketable skills of each spouse.
• The extent to which the spouse seeking spousal support contributed to the education or training of the spouse.
• The ability of the spouse to pay spousal support, taking into account their earning capacity, income and assets.
• The assets of each party.
• The needs of each party.
• The duration of the marriage.
• The ability of the supporting spouse to work without interfering with the needs of the children.
• The age and health of the parties.
• The tax consequences for each party.
• History of domestic violence.

Modification and Enforcement

Spousal support can be difficult to modify depending on whether it is a temporary or final spousal support order. Either spouse can ask the court to modify spousal support. The court will a modify final spousal support order downward if it finds there has been a substantial change in circumstance that would justify the modification. The court will modify a final spousal support upward if there has been a substantial change in circumstances and the court finds that the spousal support order did not meet the marital standard of living of the supported spouse during marriage, because at the time of trial, the payor spouse had a financial inability to pay.

To schedule a free initial consultation with a lawyer to learn more about spousal support, contact us at the Law Offices of William M. Strachan. We represent spouses throughout California, including clients in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Los Angeles, and Orange County.