The divorce process involves many different things, including child support and spousal support which can both be very complicated. Depending on the specific facts of your divorce proceeding, there are a number of different factors that can influence the determination of spousal support and child support payments in a California divorce.
What Factors Influence Spousal & Child Support?
Under the prevailing statute in California, the court considers the following factors when determining and calculating spousal support:
- Each spouse’s extent earning capacity sufficient enough to maintain the standard of living established in marriage as determined by:
– The marketable skills of the supported party, the job market for those skills, the time and expenses required to develop those skills, and the cost associated with education to acquire more marketable skills or employment
-The extent to which present or future earning capacity was impaired due to periods of unemployment incurred because of marriage
- The extent the supported spouse contributed to the education, training or career position of the supporting spouse
- The supporting spouse’s ability to pay spousal support in general
- The financial needs of each spouse based on the standard of living established in marriage
- The assets and debt level of each spouse
- How long the spouses were married before filing for divorce
- The ability of the supported spouse to become gainfully employed without interfering with the interests of dependent children
- The age and health of both spouses
- Any history of domestic violence
- Tax consequences for each spouse
- The balance of hardship to each spouse
- Any other factors the court deems just and equitable
If you were married less than 10 years, the court will generally limit spousal support to last half the length of your marriage. A limited time period is typically not set for longer marriages, but the court has discretion in determining the length of the spousal support.
The court also considers many factors when calculating child support, but below are the three main factors that have the largest impact:
- The number of children entitled to support
- The amount of parenting time each parent has with the children
- Each parent’s net disposable income
Contact an Experienced Central Valley Divorce Attorney
To learn more about the common mistakes to avoid during the divorce process, you should call Central Valley family law attorney Gurjit Srai. Mr. Srai has the knowledge and experience to help you successfully file for divorce.
For more information or to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our family law attorneys, please call us at (209) 323-5558, or complete our online form.