Newport Beach Alimony Lawyers Focused on Helping You Get Spousal Support
Alimony is a highly contested part of any divorce case. Those who work with our family law lawyers get a world-class experience as they consult and strategize for their needs. Don’t add more strain to an already tense and stressful situation, instead, you can seek help from a trusted profesional. In Newport Beach, there are two types of alimony:
- Temporary alimony
- Permanent alimony
Temporary Alimony
This is usually paid by the high earner in the family, and is often received by the person earning less, while the divorce proceeding is on. As a result, one spouse –usually the one with lower income- can file for a temporary alimony to keep them going for the duration of the divorce case.
How much is paid in temporary alimony is often determined by the family court, which relies heavily on the Family Code 3600. This is often set in an amount that allows the less well-off party take care of their key financial expenses.
Also, this depends on how much the other party can afford, as well as the earning power of the other party.
As a result, the family court will look at factors like the following before making a decision on the amount:
- Current financial state of the union
- Net disposable income after alimony payments
- Each individual’s income
Permanent Alimony
This, on the other hand, is backed by Family code 4320, and considers more factors than the temporary. Some of these factors include
- Individual monthly/annual income
- Current standard of living
- Possible career sacrifices –including that of the party that stayed home to raise children
- Sacrifices made to improve the other spouse’s career and education
- Presence or lack of children and/or wards
- Children’s needs
- Spouse’s needs moving forward
- Capacity to pay the alimony
- Marital assets, investments, properties and savings
- Debts acquired during the marriage
- Marriage duration –whether it was a short (less than 10 years) or long term marriage (10+ years)
- Contribution of both parties to current financial state
- Documented or reported instances of domestic abuse
- Health and age of both parties
- Tax implications of the alimony
- Cost of hardship that will be brought on by the divorce
Please note that the court may not necessarily consider all of these factors. This list is more of a general idea. What the court considers will depend on the uniqueness of the case.
Duration of Alimony Payments In Newport Beach
Family Code 4320 stipulates that alimony payments can only be made for half the duration of the short term marriage. For example, if the union was for 8 years, alimony payments can be made for 4 years. However, this could be subject to modification, as some short term marriages have seen alimony payments awarded indefinitely.
But ultimately, the final decision is usually at the court’s discretion. There have been cases where marriages less than 10 years were described as long term because one party had serious health problems, and the other had to support them.In clear cases involving long term marriages, the court uses its judgment to decide the duration of the alimony payments. Most of the time however, it’s usually indefinite; unless there’s a change in circumstance which will result in a review.
To get the best outcome, you need the services of highly experienced alimony lawyers from Sarieh Law Offices. Call us today on 949-828-2267 for a free 30-minute case evaluation.