After a divorce, you are suddenly faced with the full burden of your regular monthly expenses and out-of-pocket costs. As a wife and mother, you may have been asked to quit your job, work part-time, or stay at home to help with the family and household needs—leaving you without an income. In this situation, the court may order that your soon-to-be ex-husband give you the spousal support in California that you need to maintain the same quality of life you had while married.

Spousal support can be confusing, and there are many factors that go into determining exactly how much this amount will be. The judge will evaluate a number of factors from the California Family Code to decide upon how much you should receive after the divorce. This amount is separate from child support that your former spouse may also be ordered to pay.

Here are the three main types of spousal support you can expect to receive during and after your divorce in San Francisco:

1. Temporary. The process of obtaining a legal divorce in California can take months. This is too long for you to be left with the burden of paying the bills you once shared with another person. In this case, temporary spousal support may be granted to help you cover these costs. This amount may not be the same amount you will receive in alimony after the marriage has been dissolved.

2. Permanent. After the dissolution of your marriage, the judge will have made a ruling for how much spousal support you need to live comfortably. This amount may be paid out for a set period of time, or for as long as you need. If you are eligible to receive indefinite spousal support, the burden is on your ex-spouse to prove when you no longer require the money.

3. Modification. If at any point your ex-spouse loses their job involuntarily, you move in with a person of the opposite sex in a romantic relationship, or any other circumstance that the court deems worthy of a spousal support modification, your spouse has the ability to file to modify how much they can and should pay you.

California spousal support is confusing and is not something that you should attempt to request on your own. Contact one of our San Francisco spousal support attorneys at 866-414-4091 for help with your case so that you can get a fair amount paid to you from your ex-husband.

Paul Nathan
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Marin County California Divorce, Child Support and Custody Lawyer Representing Women Exclusively