Are You Married 10 years or Longer When Divorcing?

Married 10 years or Longer?

Generally, spouses married for 10 years and longer entitle the spouse who earns less money, to keep the right to get support for as long as the other spouse can pay, for as long as one might actually need.  This is easier said than done, but in many cases, it is the ex husband paying the wife.

In many cases, most attorneys insist that spousal support NOT be waived. Because if you give it up, you likely will not be able to get it down the road. If one designates that such support is not modifiable, such as in a settlement agreement, normally the court will not extend support past the time specified even if you were or were not married over 10 years.  Because Social Security uses the 10 year mark as the "long term" marriage, you could possibly be eligible for SS benefits depending on your ex spouse's earnings when you reach age of retirement; but-- if remarried, the benefits are not usually applicable.  If ex spouse is a military member and you were also married 10 years or longer while spouse was on active duty, you might be eligible for retirement pay--if so, you may qualify for direct enforcement.   For women nearing retirement themselves, but without sufficient income or social security, this could greatly affect their ability to live.

Here is a link to general spousal support calc:  http://www.cadivorce.com/tools-resources/child-spousal-support-calculator/

You can also look at others, or the support calc for child support:
http://www.childsup.ca.gov/resources/calculatechildsupport.aspx

//see terms of use:
This calculator does not constitute legal advice and is limited to estimation of spousal support (SS) and child support (CS) based on limited input. You should consult a qualified attorney to obtain accurate legal advice regarding your specific SS and CS rights and obligations. The courts use certified software programs to determine support, and these programs are the only support calculations admissible in court. This calculator is not certified or admissible for court use.   However, this calculator does not consider certain factors including, but not limited to, itemized deductions, the alternative minimum tax, or the earned income credit. Therefore, the computations of net income (after income taxes) may not be accurate, especially if your tax affairs are complex. The calculations in this program are not guaranteed and no warranty as to its accuracy or matching to other programs is made, either express or implied. To obtain more detailed information, you should contact a qualified attorney in your geographic area.

The purpose of support after a final divorce is to assist a supported spouse in maintaining a standard of living close to the marital standard; however the goal is for the spouse to become self-supporting to the greatest extent possible..temporary support is not "ongoing" support. Most temporary support is done by predetermined calculation, and the factors below are not usually used. 

Before ordering ongoing support,  a court will consider the extent to which each spouse’s earning capacity is sufficient to maintain the marital standard of living, taking into account:

• the marketable skills of the supported spouse,
• the job market for those skills,
• any time or expense the supported spouse requires to acquire education or training for employment or enhanced employability, and
• the extent to which periods of unemployment due to domestic duties during the marriage have impaired the supported spouse's present or future earning capacity.

The court will also consider any other factors that may be relevant to the fairness of an award, including:

• the extent to which the supported spouse contributed to the other spouse’s attainment of education, training, professional licensing or career advancement,
• the ability of the supporting spouse to pay support, taking into account earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living,
• the needs of each party based on the marital standard of living,
• each spouse’s obligations and assets, including separate property,
• the duration of the marriage,
• the ability of a spouse who is also a custodial parent to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children,
• each spouse’s age and health,
• any documented history of domestic violence by either spouse,
• the immediate and specific tax consequences to each spouse,
• the balance of the hardships to each spouse, and
• the goal that the supported spouse will be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time—presumed to be one-half the length of a marriage unless the marriage was longer than 10 years.

"California courts don’t ordinarily consider conduct in determining support, but a court won’t usually award support to a spouse who has acted extremely violently toward the other spouse."

It has been this Attorney's experience that in fact, the Judge will consider past actions which reflect in inherent bad conduct, illegal conduct, illegal anything just about; one sided debt, gambling and a host of other unfavorable bad habits. If this was not the case, and Judge ignored everything the person did, we would not really get a sense of the relationship. Further, a person could have good health and be young, but have no experience in the workplace, could have separate property inherited that he/she should not have to live off of, especially if saving for children's education; and if the former spouse had been convicted of white collar crime, Attorney believes it's fair game to use those facts in client's favor. None of these things involve violence.