Child Support & Spousal Support

There are two kinds of spousal support orders which may be made by the family court: temporary spousal support and permanent/post-judgment spousal support.

Similar to the child support discussion above, the family court tends to adopt a highly formulaic approach to setting temporary spousal support, taking into the account the same factors, and in fact using the same software which is used to calculate guideline child support. Temporary spousal support is defined as spousal support which is paid while the divorce process is pending. The purpose of temporary spousal support is to maintain the “status quo” as much as possible pending conclusion of the divorce proceedings, either by agreement or by trial.

Permanent spousal support, on the other hand, reflects a complex variety of factors established by statute and largely left to the discretion of the judge, including several factors which tend to favor reduced support, such as the “goal” that the supported spouse should become self-supporting within reasonable period of time. Not only are the legal bases for temporary and permanent spousal support different, there is also a disparity in practice. Unfortunately, divorce is, in the mathematical sense, a negative-sum game where each party will not have the same access to the whole of the marital property he or she had during the marriage. Therefore, “permanent” spousal support tends to be somewhat less than “temporary” spousal support, given their different underlying purposes.

Furthermore, legal rules and presumptions differ depending on the whether the duration of the marriage is short term (under ten years) or long-term (over ten years). Other presumptions of decreased need may apply in the event the supported party is actively cohabitating with a non-marital partner. Similar to child support, if allegations are made that the party receiving spousal support is unemployed or underemployed, steps may be taken to “impute” the receiving party with income reflecting their earning capacity, as opposed to their reported actual earnings. This is typically done by way of a vocational evaluation of the party seeking and/or receiving spousal support.

Quite unlike a family court determination of child support, where the court has little discretion, a determination of permanent/post-judgment spousal support rests largely upon the discretion of the particular family court judge. While every case is different, the financial stakes of this determination, for both parties, remain large in virtually every case. Therefore, it is imperative that you seek and obtain accurate legal guidance in order to ascertain what you may anticipate to receive, or what you may anticipate to pay, in spousal support, both while the divorce proceedings are pending, and once they have concluded.

The Law Office of Kevin M. Cecil has successfully handled hundreds of cases involving spousal support determinations over the past 13 years, and remains well-equipped to accurately and effectively advise you so that, moving forward, you may comfortably set your own financial goals and plans moving forward into this next chapter of your life. We remain ready, willing, able, and eager to assist you through this trying time.