General Principles of Spousal
Support
by Glen L. Rabenn
[Note: In this article, the wife is referred to as the spouse
receiving spousal support for convenience only. It should be understood that
husbands can also request and receive spousal support from wives.]
Spousal support (formerly called "alimony") is often awarded at an Order to Show
Cause on a temporary basis, where one spouse is unemployed or earning
significantly less than the other spouse. The Orange County Superior Court has
adopted the portion of the Santa Clara Guideline, mentioned above, which deals
with spousal support.
The Los Angeles County Superior Court, on the other hand, has not expressly
adopted any spousal support guideline. However, as a rule of thumb, where there
are no children and the wife is unemployed, she is generally awarded spousal
support equal to 40% of the husband's net monthly income.
At the order to show cause hearing, the judge is not concerned about the
employability of the wife. Instead, at this stage, the judge merely wants to
preserve the status quo and provide the wife with sufficient income for her
basic needs, consistent with the parties' life style.
At the trial of the dissolution, the California Family Code provides the judge
with a long list of factors that are to be considered in determining the amount
and duration of spousal support. This list includes such factors as the length
of the marriage, the parties' prior living standard, the extent to which the
supported spouse contributed to the attainment of an education or professional
license by the other spouse, the presence of young children in the home, and the
employment opportunities available to the spouse requesting support.
In general, where the marriage has lasted more than 10 years, the court will, at
the very least require a "reservation of jurisdiction." This means that, even if
there is no current order for spousal support, the wife will be permitted to
come back to court at a later date to request spousal support should the need
arise.
The Internal Revenue Code provides that all spousal support payments are tax
deductible by the paying spouse and taxable to the recipient spouse as "ordinary
income." For this reason, negotiated settlements often include the payment of a
high amount of spousal support, because such a payment results in tax benefit to
the husband.