9 Common Ways to Calculate Spousal Support

You can ask for spousal support to be paid while your case is going on. This is called a "temporary spousal support order." Many counties have formulas for calculating the amount of a temporary spousal support order. Check your court's local rules for the temporary support guideline.

The judge will not use a formula to figure out how much spousal support to order at the end of your case (called the "final judgment").

When the judge makes his or her final order, the judge must consider the factors in California Family Code section 4320. The factors they use for calculating spousal support are:

1. The length of the marriage.
2. What each person needs
3. What each person pays or can pay (including earnings and earning capacity)
4. Whether having a job would make it too hard to take care of the child(ren)
5. The age and health of both people
6. Debts and property
7. Whether one spouse helped the other get an education, training, career, or professional license.
8. Whether there was domestic violence in the marriage
9. Whether one spouse's career was affected by unemployment, or by taking care of the children or home.

The Tax Impact of Spousal Support; How Is Spousal Support Taxed?

Usually, spousal support is tax deductible for the paying spouse and taxable income for the supported spouse.

When Does Spousal Support End?

Spousal support usually ends when:

• A court order or judgment says it ends
• One of the spouses dies
• The person getting the support remarries

Spousal Support