Former "Party of Five" actress Neve Campbell filed for divorce from her husband in Los Angeles Superior Court about five months ago. Among her requested relief in her divorce Petition was a request to prevent her ex husband from seeking spousal support from her. This legal manuever is very common. Higher wage earners typically request that the other party be prevented from seeking spousal support from the other party in the Petition. However, this does not mean the request will be granted. Campbell's soon to be ex-husband can certainly file an Order to Show Cause with the court seeking spousal support if during the marriage, she was the breadwinner and supported him.
As stated in my prior post, since this is probably a marriage of less than 10 years, Neve will only owe her ex spousal support for half of the length of the marriage, if he asks for it.
What are the factors that go into the determination of spousal support in Orange County or Los Angeles County courts? A program called the Dissomaster is utilized for the calculation of temporary spousal support requests. In order to determine permanent spousal support, the courts will rely on Family Code Section 4320 factors.
Here is a summary of 4320 factors:
In ordering spousal support under this part, the court shall consider all of the following circumstances:
(a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is
sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the
marriage, taking into account all of the following:
(1) The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market
for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported
party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop
those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to
acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
(2) The extent to which the supported party's present or future
earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were
incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote
time to domestic duties.
(b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the
attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license
by the supporting party.
(c) The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support,
taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned
and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
(d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living
established during the marriage.
(e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property,
of each party.
(f) The duration of the marriage.
(g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful
employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent
children in the custody of the party.
(h) The age and health of the parties.
(i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as
defined in Section 6211, between the parties, including, but not
limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from
domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the
supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence
against the supporting party by the supported party.
(j) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
(k) The balance of the hardships to each party.
(l) The goal that the supported party shall be self-supporting
within a reasonable period of time. Except in the case of a marriage
of long duration as described in Section 4336, a "reasonable period
of time" for purposes of this section generally shall be one-half the
length of the marriage. However, nothing in this section is intended
to limit the court's discretion to order support for a greater or
lesser length of time, based on any of the other factors listed in
this section, Section 4336, and the circumstances of the parties.
(m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall be
considered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal support
award in accordance with Section 4325.
(n) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.
For more information on dissolution of marriage and spousal support, contact an Orange County divorce attorney for more information.
Source: Neve Campbell blocks spousal support After Filing for Divorce
California Family Code Section 4320
