Los Angeles Spousal Support and Child Support Attorney
An Experienced Spousal Support Attorney
The factors that are involved in calculating spousal support, sometimes called alimony, can be complicated and contentious. The decision about the amount of support to be ordered is based on a number of factors detailed in the California Family Code section 4320:
a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
a. The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
b. The extent to which the supported party's present or future earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties.
b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license by the supporting party.
c) The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support, taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage.
e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.
f) The duration of the marriage.
g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party.
h) The age and health of the parties.
i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as defined in California Family Code Section 6211, between the parties, including, but not limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence against the supporting party by the supported party.
j) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
k) The balance of the hardships to each party.
l) The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable period of time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended to limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in this section, California Family Code Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties.
m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall be considered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal support award in accordance with Section 4325.
n) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.
Having an experienced family law attorney on your side who intimately understands complicated financial issues and has a thorough understanding of family law means that you have access to accurate valuations, the ability to uncover any hidden assets, and the expert opinions to support the strategy you and attorney Debra S. Frank choose.
Los Angeles Child Support Lawyer
California courts follow a statewide uniform guideline in ordering child support that is presumed to be the correct child support sum. The principles of this statewide guideline are set forth in Family Code Section 4053 which states:
"In implementing the statewide uniform guideline, the courts shall adhere to the following principles:
a) A parent's first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children according to the parent's circumstances and station in life.
b) Both parents are mutually responsible for the support of their children.
c) The guideline takes into account each parent's actual income and level of responsibility for the children.
d) Each parent should pay for the support of the children according to his or her ability.
e) The guideline seeks to place the interests of children as the state's top priority.
f) Children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Child support may therefore appropriately improve the standard of living of the custodial household to improve the lives of the children.
g) Child support orders in cases in which both parents have high levels of responsibility for the children should reflect the increased costs of raising the children in two homes and should minimize significant disparities in the children's living standards in the two homes.
h) The financial needs of the children should be met through private financial resources as much as possible.
i) It is presumed that a parent having primary physical responsibility for the children contributes a significant portion of available resources for the support of the children.
j) The guideline seeks to encourage fair and efficient settlements of conflicts between parents and seeks to minimize the need for litigation.
k) The guideline is intended to be presumptively correct in all cases, and only under special circumstances should child support orders fall below the child support mandated by the guideline formula.
l) Child support orders must ensure that children actually receive fair, timely, and sufficient support reflecting the state's high standard of living and high costs of raising children compared to other states.
By utilizing the services of Debra S. Frank, you will have an experienced family law attorney who will work with appropriate experts to assert your position.
Attorney Debra S. Frank is focused on providing her clients highly informed advice and the resources necessary to execute a sound strategy. She has the experience to work with complicated needs and the network of experts to provide evidence and opinion to support your claims. Contact Us to speak with an experienced attorney about your legal needs.
