“Are you entitled to spousal support in California? That’s a very difficult question to answer because there’s so many factors. Generally speaking, the answer is this; at the onset of a divorce the court will try to maintain the status quo. That means that the court will likely order one spouse to support the other spouse commensurate with the status quo at the time that the party separated. What does that mean?

Well, how much money is needed by one spouse to pay support to the other spouse so that they can continue to pay for their car, and their rent, and their groceries? It’s very basic.

Long-term, meaning permanent spousal support. What does that mean? It means that if you’re in a marriage for any significant period of time, the court can and may order permanent spousal support. It doesn’t mean it’s permanent. It doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever, that’s a misnomer, but depending on the length of the marriage the court can make a permanent support order. What do you do? Well in a permanent support order, how would it terminate? If somebody dies, somebody remarries, or somebody goes to court and says, “I want to modify this order. I want to terminate this order.”

Very complex and important area of family law. Speak to a good lawyer if you need support.”