A court can order one spouse to make monthly payments of support to the other spouse when a couple legally separates or files for a dissolution.  These payments are known as spousal support. These monthly payments used to be referred to as “alimony.”  To begin a spousal support order, one of the following cases must be filed: an annulment, a dissolution, a legal separation or a domestic violence restraining order.

If you are in the process of an ongoing case and need support,you can make a request for  payments of “temporary spousal support.” When requesting payments for temporary spousal support, the court uses a formula to determine the amount of support you will receive. Each county uses a slightly different formula to calculate the amount of payments for temporary spousal support. Additionally, sometimes different counties use a program known as  “Dissomaster” or “X-Spouse.”  The programs are based on a mathematical formula developed by the California legislature and adjusted periodically based on economic factors. The formula essentially takes into consideration how much each of you earns, as well as other factors. This formula is only used for temporary spousal support, which is support while your divorce is pending, not after final judgment, which is called permanent support. 
For permanent support the judge must consider numerous factors as to how much support you will receive (or pay to) from the other spouse. You can find these factors under  California Family Code section 4320. The purpose of these factors is to allow the supported spouse to maintain a similar standard of living to which they enjoyed during their marriage. The factors that are used to determine spousal support include:
∙    The length of the marriage and taking in account the needs of the standard of living during the marriage.
∙    If having a job would make it difficult to take care of children.
∙    Age and health.
∙    Debts and property
∙    Whether one spouse helped the other spouse obtain education, training or a professional license.
∙    Whether one of the spouse’s career’s was affected by taking care of the children or unemployment.
∙    If domestic violence was an issue.
∙    The tax implications of spousal support.
Unlike temporary support, permanent support is very subjective and can vary widely from Judge to Judge even with the same facts.  The general guideline is that it should last half the length of the marriage, although that is a guideline from which the Judge can deviate depending on the facts of the case. 
The Law Offices of Gloria D. Cordova is an aggressive family law firm that is sensitive to your needs. Please call to set up a consultation so you may come in and speak to us concerning all your spousal support questions. Also check us out on https://www.facebook.com/gcordovalaw?ref=hl.