Spousal Support

Under California law, husbands and wives to a dissolution of marriage or legal separation may be entitled to spousal support, also known as alimony or maintenance. At the Law Offices of Evan Braunstein, we have experience advising clients on spousal support issues, negotiating spousal support on behalf of our clients, and trying Los Angeles spousal support matters in court.

Either party may request temporary support as early as the filing of the petition or response in a dissolution of marriage or legal separation case. Temporary support enables the party with less income to maintain the marital standard of living while the case proceeds. Individual counties in California have their own rules and formulas for determining temporary spousal support. Some counties use a guideline spousal support formula that is calculated with software such as Dissomaster. In other counties, including Los Angeles County and Orange County, temporary spousal support is based on the court’s discretion and a series of financial and lifestyle factors.

Unlike temporary spousal support, the support set at the time of the dissolution of marriage, known as long-term or permanent spousal support does not differ by county and is not calculated with a formula. The court must consider a group of support factors, and then has the discretion to order permanent spousal support that it believes is appropriate. These factors include:

• the length of marriage
• the income of the parties
• the age and circumstances of the parties
• the needs of the parties to maintain the marital standard of living

Whenever possible, spousal support should be negotiated and agreed to between the parties outside of court. A prolonged court battle over spousal support can be both financially and emotionally costly, and it can lead to an unpredictable result. If negotiation fails, a Los Angeles spousal support attorney at Law Offices of Evan Braunstein can protect your spousal support interests in court.