How Long Is Alimony Paid In California

How long practise you lot have to pay alimony in a brusk or long matrimony?

In a brusque marriage (under x years) the answer is commonly, at the nigh, half the elapsing of the marriage. In a long marriage (10 or more years), the reply may be until either spouse's death, the receiving spouse'due south remarriage or further order of the courtroom.

Nonetheless, these are merely general scenarios. The answer may be completely dissimilar in brusk or long marriages, depending on the example's individual facts. How long alimony lasts is non ever a simple answer. Let'due south look at this consequence in more than detail. Zilch on this page is intended every bit legal advice.

If your divorce judgment covers alimony duration, that is the first place you await

For example, the typical alimony order states ane person pays the other person pension at a set corporeality each month until:

1. Decease of either party,
2. Remarriage of the person who receives alimony, or
3. Further lodge of the court.

In curt term marriages, every bit nosotros hash out beneath, there is commonly an end date for alimony. In long-term marriages, it can exist left open up concluded or there can besides be an end appointment.

In that location are numerous different ways a judgment may recite alimony terms. Therefore, those terms can significantly impact how long a person has to pay alimony afterwards a divorce.

So what is the lesson here? An experienced family police force chaser should carefully review your divorce judgment. That attorney can then tell yous what bear upon it may accept on how long you take to pay alimony.

Difference between brusque versus long marriages

You lot may wonder what we mean by a short-term marriage.

Typically, California police force calls a curt-term marriage a wedlock of under 10 years. If a marriage is for case only five years in length, information technology is a short-term matrimony.

Merely what about a marriage that is nine years 11 months?

Is that a brusk-term marriage even though information technology got very close to the 10 yr mark?

Short respond is, "it depends." The court has the power to treat a short-term marriage every bit a long-term marriage. It as well has the power to sometimes treat a long-term marriage like a short i.

There is no black-and-white rule on the 10 year topic

Our feel is unless there are unusual circumstances involved, if the marriage is nine years or less, it will exist treated every bit a curt-term wedlock.

A matrimony that is betwixt 9 to x years can sometimes be in that grayness area.

A long-term marriage is a spousal relationship that is x years or longer

Typically, per California Family Lawmaking 4336, the court continues to reserve its jurisdiction to order pension in a long-term marriage without a termination date unless the parties agree otherwise or the court orders otherwise.

But, equally you will read below, simply because spouses hit a ten year matrimony does not mean the courtroom will not finish alimony.

How long practise yous have to pay pension in a brusk-term marriage?

We will assume there are no unusual terms in the divorce judgment regarding the alimony. We will likewise presume the divorce judgment does non have its ain termination appointment for alimony.

In such a scenario, a person who had a short term matrimony usually pays pension later the divorce judgment until approximately one-half the duration of the marriage.

And if the judgment does non contain an limited termination date, that person must go to court and ask the courtroom to terminate alimony.

Practise not assume alimony terminates on its own

The mistake some people make is to assume just considering they have paid alimony for half the duration of a short-term marriage, they tin can simply stop paying it.

But unless the actual divorce judgment terminates alimony at the half-way mark, the alimony may proceed afterward that time. That is why an attorney must review your judgment to give y'all advice.

So how long you lot have to pay pension afterward a divorce judgment in a short-term matrimony is not something you lot can assume.

Just because you hit the ane one-half way duration of the marriage mark does non mean pension automatically ends. Instead, you should seek a family unit police chaser's advice to tell you when the appropriate time is to proceed to court and finish pension.

How long do you accept to pay pension in a long-term marriage?

Let's presume the judgment does not take its own termination date, the judgment simply states alimony is paid until the death of either party, the remarriage of the person who receives alimony or further order of the court.

The length of time will depend on whether there is a fabric change of circumstances that justifies the paying person to go to court and seek a modification.

We discuss this further below...

While death and remarriage automatically cut off alimony, unless the parties agreed otherwise in their divorce judgment, alimony in a long-term union can proceed for more than the one-half the elapsing of the marriage.

For case, in a 12 yr marriage, alimony tin certainly exceed the half dozen twelvemonth marker. But alimony can also be terminated under the vi year mark if at that place are proper textile change of circumstances.

How long do yous have to pay alimony in a very long-term marriage?

California constabulary does non ascertain a "very" long-term matrimony. For practical purposes, we consider marriages of twenty or more than years to be very long-term.

And practically speaking, it is probably easier to terminate alimony in a wedlock that is 10 years and one month that it is in a marriage that is thirty years and one calendar month. How much easier of course depends on the facts of each case.

How does a change in "ability to pay" touch the length of alimony?

A common basis to modify alimony is a textile change of circumstances that affects the paying person'southward ability to pay.

Ability to pay is a pregnant component of whatsoever alimony order.

Typical material change of circumstances that bear on power to pay include:

• A reduction in the paying person'south income,
• An increase (typically unexpected) in the paying person's expenses, or
• Retirement at retirement age

The above are non the only grounds.

Each of these may exist grounds for a downward modification or termination of alimony.

What is termination?

When we refer to the word termination, there are two types. Termination of alimony may but mean alimony is set at zero. Termination of jurisdiction, which is the court's power, is something different. Terminating the court'due south power based on a material modify of circumstances in ability to pay is harder to obtain in a long term marriage.

In brusk term marriages, a reduction in ability to pay may stop the court'southward power to society pension depending on how long the person has already paid pension.

For example, if the person who seeks the modification and reduction or termination is close to the half duration of the marriage mark, the court may fix alimony at zero and then also guild it terminated at the one-half elapsing.

These types of proactive orders help the parties not have to come back to court unless there are farther material change of circumstances before and so.

We encourage y'all to also read our article on how to avoid paying alimony that is as well much and for too long.

How does a change in "need" impact the length of alimony?

Simply equally power to pay can impact alimony, so can "need." Need refers to the person who receives support and their need for ongoing support. The post-obit are a few mutual examples of events that tin can impact demand:

• The receiving spouse's increase in income,
• The receiving spouse'south cohabitation with a non-marital partner,
• The receiving spouse'southward reduced living expenses, or
• The receiving spouse's acquisition of assets which reduce or eliminate a need for ongoing alimony. We sometimes run across this in situations where the receiving spouse receives an inheritance.

The higher up are not the but events that tin can impact "need."

All of these can have an bear on on how long a person has to pay alimony after a divorce. If a receiving spouse's need decreases or is eliminated, the spouse who pays alimony may proceed to court and seek a modification.

Again, that modification may exist a reduction in pension, placing alimony at zip or fifty-fifty terminating the court's power to guild farther alimony.

And once again, whether the spousal relationship was of a short-term or long-term duration can have an affect in what direction the court goes.

How long do you lot have to pay pension if the other person refuses to go self-supporting?

Nosotros wrote an article on this topic of Gavron warnings in California. We encourage y'all to read it.

A spouse who receives alimony and who has been given an admonition to become self-supporting plays a dangerous game if he or she fails to brand reasonable efforts to become self-supporting.

In such a circumstance, the courtroom has the ability to reduce alimony or eliminate it altogether.

Was this article helpful?

We hope you enjoyed this article on how long you lot take to pay alimony after a divorce.

Delight contact us for a strategy session and we tin talk over your specific situation and determine whether you lot have proper grounds to modify alimony after your divorce or, if y'all are the spouse who receives pension, whether you have proper grounds to oppose such a asking.

We also encourage you lot to check out our comprehensive guide on California alimony laws.

Strategy sessions are designed for those who are serious about their family police case, want to make informed and intelligent choices, and seek result-focused representation.

Source: https://farzadlaw.com/california-spousal-support/how-long-you-pay-alimony-after-divorce

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