Long Term Marriage of 10 Years or More Effects on Spousal Support | Richard Ross Associates

Common knowledge is that a marriage of 10 years or more, or a long term marriage, results in spousal support, or alimony, for the life of the supported spouse. While this has historically been the case, this is not always true. It is important to be aware of your rights and obligations for support, especially in the case of long term marriage.

At the time of trial, or in the final divorce judgment, the judge will order spousal support if appropriate and there will be no termination date for the support ordered. Despite the word “final” in final judgment, this is not the end of the road. At any time, as long as there has been a material change of circumstance, either party can file for a modification of spousal support, which can including determining a termination date for spousal support. Before deciding whether or not there has been a material change of circumstance, it’s important to first understand how spousal support is determined in the first place.

While deciding a spousal support order, a judge will consider a number of factors including the marital standard of living, the earning ability of each party, the marketable skills and future earning ability of each party, the needs of each party based on the standard of living during marriage, and the age and health of each party, in addition to other considerations. Various experts such as a vocational expert may be retained in order to offer a professional assessment on some of these factors. When making a final or permanent support order the judge will also consider the assets of each party. The assets are not considered for temporary spousal support orders because they are not considered to have been equitably assessed or divided yet so temporary spousal support is only based on the income of each party.

A material change of circumstance has occurred when any of the above items takes place, for either party. At the time of filing a request for modification of support order, an experienced family law attorney might also request that a termination date for spousal support be set, even in the case of a long term marriage.

In California, at the time of making a spousal support order the judge will usually issue a Gavron warning which means the court expects the supported spouse to make reasonable attempts to become self-supporting. This would mean seeking employment if the spouse didn’t work during the marriage and/or obtaining further education in order to increase the amount of marketable skills the person had. This would especially be true in cases where the supported spouse is younger or still at an age where he or she could reasonably be expected to work. Failure to do so could lead to the court imputing or assigning a reasonable income to the supported spouse which could then lead to a lower support order, whether or not that person was actually working.

Certified Family Law Specialist Richard Ian Ross has been practicing Family Law in California for almost 40 years where he has relied heavily on his background in psychology and interpersonal relations to consistently deliver exceptional results on behalf of his clients in all family law matters including divorce, child custody, move-away, asset protection, support and other domestic matters. Richard has built his firm, Richard Ross Associates, based on this experience and prides himself on building a team of knowledgeable colleagues who will do the same.