Many aspects of divorce follow a 50/50 rule. Separating couples often share 50/50 custody of their children, split their marital property in half, and share responsibility for debt.
Long-term spousal support is not as cut and dried. Various factors will decide the amount and length of a long-term support order.
Spousal Support Orders
A spousal support order sets the level of support a higher-wage-earning spouse will give to the lower-wage-earning spouse after a divorce. The order will outline how much money will be paid, for how long a payment will be required, and what stipulations will end support.
Someone getting divorced can apply for temporary spousal support to get them through the divorce proceedings. This is separate from a permanent spousal support order, which will be decided as part of the divorce proceedings.
It is important to note that permanent spousal support is a somewhat misleading term, as many support orders will have an end date or set of conditions.
Permanent spousal support orders are tailored to each couple’s circumstances and will vary. The most common types of spousal support are rehabilitative, long-term, terminate, and reserve support.
Rehabilitative Spousal Support
Rehabilitative support is meant to be short-term. The purpose is to help the lower-wage earning spouse get on their feet.
These support orders will usually be a few years long. They will allow someone to return to school, find a higher-paying job, or get career training.
Long-Term Support
Long-term spousal support is the middle option in support orders. These orders last longer than rehabilitative support, but not as long as terminate support.
Many long-term support orders will have a set of conditions that need to be met to end support. One of the most common is re-marriage. Essentially, long-term support can continue indefinitely and end if the receiving party gets re-married.
Other long-term spousal support orders will be set for a specific number of years with few or no other conditions.
Long-term support orders can morph into terminate orders if conditions for ending the order are never met.
Terminate Support
Terminate support is spousal support that lasts until one partner dies. This type of support is very rare in California, but can legally happen.
Security for Spousal Support
Some long-term and terminate support agreements will require a security in case the paying partner dies prematurely.
A life insurance policy with a staggered payout or a deed of trust can be used to guarantee support payments in the case of an untimely death.
Lump Sum Spousal Support
A lump sum can be used to pay spousal support for any of the order types. Instead of paying monthly payments, you can do a buy-out.
In the case of a lump sum payment, the total amount of expected support over the years is added up. Various discounts are considered for the time value of money, life expectancy, and other factors, with one payment paid to the receiving partner.
Buy-outs are common when one party has a lot of wealth or sells off the property they’ve won in the divorce. However, lump sum spousal support can only be enforced by agreement; the court cannot order it independently.
Reserve
Sometimes judges will not award spousal support, but they also recognize that conditions can change. They’ll give a reserve order.
A reserve order leaves the door open for support even though it isn’t necessary at the time the divorce proceedings are finalized.
Un-Wed Separation Support
You can receive alimony if you aren’t married. A 1976 Supreme Court case decided that long-term relationships can be eligible for spousal support payments.
You will have to file for a support order in civil court instead of family court though. Family courts only give support orders in the case of divorce.
Enforcement Orders
Once a spousal support order has been decreed it must be followed. If you are not receiving the spousal support you are entitled to, you can file an enforcement order.
Deciding Factors
When a judge considers a long-term support order they review many aspects of each partner’s life and their former marriage. Length of the marriage, lifestyle, financial sacrifices, ability to make money, and abuse are all examined, among other factors.
10-Year Rule
One of the “unofficial” rules of deciding spousal support is the 10-Year Rule. This rule says that a partner in a marriage that lasted less than 10 years should be awarded spousal support for half the length of the marriage. Someone in a marriage that lasted longer than 10 years is entitled to an indefinite amount of spousal support.
Judges will consider this and sometimes rule along this guideline, but it isn’t a law that must be followed. The entire picture is considered when a spousal support order is created.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle a couple shared while married is one of the most important factors in deciding spousal support. One of the aims of a spousal support order is to help the lower-wage earning partner maintain a lifestyle similar to what they enjoyed while married.
Sacrifices a spouse made to support the family or the other spouse are also considered as part of the lifestyle. A few common sacrifices considered when awarding spousal support include:
- One spouse working to put another through school
- One person taking on the bulk of the caregiving duties of a disabled or chronically ill child or family member
- One spouse being a stay-at-home parent
- One partner giving up a career or scaling back on hours to support the family
- One spouse’s career being negatively affected by moving for the other partner’s job during the marriage
Stay-At-Home-Parents
Stay-at-home parents often fear they won’t have financial security after a divorce. In many situations, stay-at-home parents are offered spousal support that enables them to continue to stay at home with children or work fewer hours if they need to enter the workforce.
Many judges will consider the children’s needs when deciding spousal support even though it isn’t a child support order. If the kids have always had a stay-at-home parent, both parents decided it was important when they were married, and if the kids will benefit from still having a parent at home then a spousal support order can help a parent continue to stay at home.
Ability to Earn
Another consideration in a spousal support order is both partners’ ability to earn money. If the higher-wage earner does not earn much more money than the other partner, then a spousal support order will be small or non-existent. A spousal support order can’t favor one spouse to the detriment of the other.
Education level, work history, age, income, and health of each person is considered. The spousal support order will help balance any inequalities that will prevent one spouse from maintaining a similar standard of living.
The ability to earn also applies to the lower-wage earner if they have a high income. Just because you make less money than your spouse does not mean you will get a spousal support order. If you can maintain a similar lifestyle on your income alone then you may not be awarded support.
Abuse
When one spouse has a decreased ability to earn income and will have a lower standard of living, they are often awarded spousal support. The largest exception to this is in cases of abuse.
If a partner has been abusive to the spouse and/or their children they might not be entitled to spousal support, even if they are a non-wage earner. They can be induced to pay spousal support, but a court will be reluctant to order that they receive it.
Abuse needs to be proved though. If you are experiencing domestic abuse, document everything you can and report abuse to the authorities. This is important for various reasons, including helping to decide on spousal support, child support, and child custody.
Spousal Support and Retirement
Retirement can add an extra complexity to spousal support orders. Many people, even if they aren’t receiving spousal support payments in retirement, will still need to know important divorce retirement facts.
Early Retirement
For some people, retirement leads to a drastic drop in income. For others, their lifestyle remains the same. Because of this, there isn’t a standard way spousal support is handled after the paying spouse retires.
California law says that if the alimony-paying spouse has reached retirement age they don’t have to keep working just to afford their spousal support payments. You will need to go before a judge to end the order though. It is not automatic just because you have retired.
It is not guaranteed that retirement–especially if done early–will end a spousal support order. If your income remains steady, you have minimal debt, or you seem to be retiring early just to spite your ex, your order modification can be denied.
Like the original spousal support order, any retirement-related modification will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Pensions and Retirement Investments
Any pensions, 401Ks, or other retirement investments accumulated during the marriage are considered community property when you are divorced. You are often entitled to half the amount in a pension or retirement account at the time of divorce. Most people will settle this when other community property is divided during the initial divorce proceedings.
It is unlikely that retirement assets will cause a spousal support payment to increase since a payout likely happened at the time of the divorce.
Social Security Benefits
One of the most important pieces of retirement information and divorce is how it impacts your social security benefits. You can draw social security benefits based on your working income over your lifetime.
If you were married for more than 10 years and aren’t re-married you can receive social security benefits based on your ex-spouse’s income instead of your own. You can either collect what your benefit is or half of what your ex-partner’s monthly benefit is.
If you have been re-married for more than 10 years you can only collect on your second spouse’s earnings. If your second (or third, etc.) marriage ends before 10 years you will revert back to your first spouse’s benefit amount.
Common Fears
People are often worried they’ll do something wrong when they decide to draw their Social Security retirement benefits. Talk with the Social Security Administration if you’re confused about whose benefit you can draw from or which is higher. They will help you decide which benefit is larger.
You can only get one social security check a month so you will decide between your benefit amount or your ex-spouse’s.
The good news is you don’t need to worry about tension with your ex. You aren’t pulling any money from them. They will still get their full benefit. Your monthly payout will just be calculated based on their income instead of yours.
The Social Security Administration will also never tell your ex that you are using their income to calculate your benefit.
Another common fear is that you won’t be eligible for your ex’s benefits if they get remarried and have been married longer than 10 years. You will remain eligible no matter your ex’s relationship status. You can draw a benefit, your ex can draw a benefit, and his/her current spouse can as well.
Post-Judgment Modifications
Unpredictable events happen to all of us. Some are positive and others are negative. A spousal support order might need to be changed as life unfolds.
Either side can request a post-judgment modification on a spousal support order. Both partners can request to increase or decrease the amount of support. You can also end or shorten the agreement.
Job changes, improved or declining health, large inheritances, finishing a degree, or an overall change in fortune are all causes of post-judgment modifications.
Get a Long-Term Support Order
A long-term spousal support order has to be obtained through the court system. It can be easy or difficult to get one, largely dependent on how well you and your former partner agree on the terms.
If both parties agree on the duration and amount of support you can self-file and a judge will sign off on the order. There is a small filing and court processing fee, but the process is fairly painless.
When both partners don’t agree on long-term support you can ask a judge to determine the provisions. Gather your evidence and get an attorney to help present your case.
