How to Calculate a California Alimony Payment
California has no set calculation method for determining alimony judgments. A judge considers a list of criteria when deciding on an alimony amount. The amount of alimony due falls under California Family Code Section 4320. People in divorce proceedings may be allowed temporary alimony during the case. This is also known as a temporary spousal support order. Temporary spousal support is calculated differently in each county in California and has no final bearing on alimony.
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Instructions
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Gather information on both spouses. This includes income, debt, standard of living and child arrangements. This information is gathered during divorce proceedings. It will include marriage certificates, W-2 forms to judge income of each individual, monthly budgets for each person and any court records such as domestic violence or debt. Other circumstantial evidence may be found to support facts such as if one partner helped pay student loans or other debts of the spouse.
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According to the California Courts Help Center, the following factors help the judge determine an alimony dollar amount: the length of the marriage or domestic partnership; what each person needs; what each person pays or can pay; whether having a job would make it too hard to take care of any children living in the household; the age and health of both people; debts and property; whether one spouse or domestic partner helped the other get an education, training, career, or professional license; whether there was domestic violence in the marriage or domestic partnership; whether one spouse's (or domestic partner's) career was affected by unemployment or by taking care of the children or the home and, finally, the tax impact of spousal support.
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Weighing the criteria presented, a judge will make a decision on alimony in his final order. The judge does not use a formula but weighs the criteria as he sees fit. Because two judges may weigh the same circumstances differently, alimony judgments will depend on how the particular judge who is assigned to the case decides to evaluate the criteria.
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Tips & Warnings
Alimony payments are tax deductible on IRS Form 1040 Line 31b. Alimony received is taxed on IRS Form 1040 Line 11.
References
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