Spousal Support
Divorce attorney Deborah Soleymani knows that each spousal support case is unique, and is always fully prepared to navigate through the complexities for you. The Soleymani Law Firm fights for both clients who are owed spousal support, and clients who are ordered to pay unreasonable and excessive spousal support obligations. Our number one priority is to ensure that your ex does not get more money than is required by law.
Paying alimony to an ex-spouse should not leave a hole in your pocket. As an experienced family attorney, Deborah Soleymani, will ensure that you don’t pay more than what you have to.
Types of Spousal Support
Spousal Support is split into two sections
Temporary Spousal Support:
Temporary spousal support is paid monthly while the divorce case is still on going. This type of support helps the spouse who earns less money throughout the divorce process. It usually ends once the divorce is finalized.
Long Term Spousal Support
Long term spousal support is owed from one spouse to the other once the divorce terminates. Typically, for marriages with longer durations, spousal support may be owed indefinitely, or usually until the supported spouse remarries. Short lived marriages, will have a shorter duration of this support.
Factors
Spousal Support Determining Factors
The intended objective of spousal support is to help one spouse financially during and after the divorce and maintain their standard of living, similar to when they were married. The spouse who earns less or has no earnings at all, is generally the disadvantaged spouse in a divorce. Thus, spousal support aims to create financial equity and fairness for the disadvantaged spouse, once the divorce is concluded.
There are certain factors that a court will consider when calculating spousal support:
- Duration of marriage
- The standard of living while married
- Earning potential/current earnings for both parties
- Age & health
- Whether or not one spouse supported the other during school or vocational training
- Whether or not one spouse’s career was affected due to having to take care of children
Divorce attorney Deborah Soleymani, will ensure the best outcome for your financial security.
How to Calculate the Cost of Spousal Support
Unless both parties are standard W-2 earners (and sometimes even if they are), calculating the “correct” amount of spousal support can be very complicated. Depending on what county in California that you file your divorce, the judge may use a formula to assist him/her in calculating the cost. Above all, the judge must consider the factors in California Family Code Section 4320 listed above.
Do You Have to Settle in Court?
The short answer is no. Court is not the only answer in reaching a favorable agreement. The Soleymani Law Firm prides itself in negotiating outside of court, while obtaining the best results for its clients.
Often times we utilize a retired family judge to help our clients come to a settlement and enter a final judgment. We use this process when our clients wish to circumvent the court system, and costly court fees and expenses.
The Soleymani Law Firm has a history of successfully settling almost all mediation cases outside of court, which helps clients save money, and helps to speed up an otherwise long and tedious process.
Support Enforcement
Many assume that once their ex is on the hook to pay spousal support, they have reached the end of the road. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Often times, an experienced spousal support attorney is required to enforce the support, and get your ex to pay. The Soleymani Law Firm has many years of experience in enforcing owed spousal support.
It is important to remember that getting the financial support you need and deserve can be life changing. If you are owed spousal support, and your ex isn’t paying, that usually means you have been struggling, or using other resource to get by. Remember, you have rights, and you deserve to get the support you need.
Deborah Soleymani is an experienced child support attorney, and she and her team are determined to help you get you and your children the support you deserve.
Spousal Support Modification & Termination
Spousal support is dynamic. Meaning that even if a request for spousal support has been rejected in the past, it can still be awarded in the future in light of new information presented to the court.
It is important to note that spousal support is not indefinite. In California for instance, it can be terminated upon the death of a spouse, and/or can be revised if either spouse faces significant financial changes.