# Spousal and child support



## Justmeplusone (Jul 17, 2020)

I’ve been with my husband for 13 years. I live in CA and was wondering about how spousal support has worked. Any one close to the years and could tell me how it’s calculated and how long they received it for?


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## frusdil (Sep 5, 2013)

Depends on many factors, do you work? Do you earn more, less or about the same as your husband?


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## Justmeplusone (Jul 17, 2020)

frusdil said:


> Depends on many factors, do you work? Do you earn more, less or about the same as your husband?


I do not work. He is the only one that works because he has not allowed me to. He makes $20 an hour full time and does over time.


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## TJW (Mar 20, 2012)

Justmeplusone said:


> He is the only one that works because he has not allowed me to.


This should not be considered as a valid reason, however, I don't know if it will be or not. Divorce laws in some places are superannuated.
If you are divorced, then there will be no reason for you to not work. But there are factors that will be considered, child care, etc.

Make sure you keep copies of those found pay stubs. He will not be able to say that he's not being paid to the court.


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## Livvie (Jan 20, 2014)

How many kids? How's old?


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## Prodigal (Feb 5, 2011)

You live in a community property state and have a marriage of longevity - more than 10 years. As a rule, debts and assets are divided 50/50. That means you get half of the debt accumulated during the marriage and half the assets. In equity states, spousal support is generally given for half the length of the marriage. But after the 10 year mark, it also can be for much longer. As a rule, a marriage of 20 years and longer means one spouse gets support for the rest of their life.

Please don't take what I've told you as gospel truth, because there can be extenuating circumstances. I live in a community property state, and a good friend of mine ended up with half the debt and half the assets when she divorced.

You aren't "allowed" to work???? In what century are you living?


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## Affaircare (Jan 11, 2010)

Here is an easy child support calculator for CA: The Easiest California Child Support Calculator - Instant & Live

Here is an easy alimony calculator for CA: California Spousal Support Calculator - Cristin Lowe Law

I used $20/hr for 40 hour weeks for 52 weeks and came to an annual income of $41,600. It may be a little more but that's a guess. 

I used 2 kids, 50/50 custody and got about $1000/mo for child support. 

I put the annual figure and the $12,000 annually for CS into the alimony calculator and got about $875/mo for alimony. 

So there you have it. That's my guess, but if you put in real figures you'll get a more accurate idea.


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## Livvie (Jan 20, 2014)

That sounds really high for _50/50 custody_ and his income. Did you impute income to her? I doubt a judge would grant those amounts. With that annual income his take home pay probably isn't a whole lot more than that, and he has to have a self support reserve.


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## frusdil (Sep 5, 2013)

Justmeplusone said:


> I do not work. He is the only one that works because *he has not allowed me to*. He makes $20 an hour full time and does over time.


What? It's 2020.

At that low rate, I wouldn't be banking on a whole lot of much at all. Even if his wage comes out at $41k as said above, there's a self support amount which is excluded, over here that amount is $24k. So he'd only be paying CS and Alimony (outrageous concept but I digress), on the difference, so it's not going to amount to much.

Either way you're going to have to reskill and get a job, you can't expect him to fully fund the children, and it's not reasonable to expect him to fund you at all.



Prodigal said:


> *As a rule, a marriage of 20 years and longer means one spouse gets support for the rest of their life.*


WTAF? Are you serious?


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## Prodigal (Feb 5, 2011)

frusdil said:


> WTAF? Are you serious?


Yes. That's how it frequently pans out here. I have a friend whose sister was married for 24 years. Husband decided the grass was greener elsewhere. She got lifetime spousal support. I don't know how much she got, but that's what the court decided.


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## TJW (Mar 20, 2012)

frusdil said:


> WTAF? Are you serious?


California isn't the only place. There are many, the one I live in, for example, who award these exorbitant punitive damages, even when the non-working spouse cheated and looked for "greener grass".


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## Vanicky (Jul 22, 2020)

Justmeplusone said:


> I do not work. He is the only one that works because he has not allowed me to. He makes $20 an hour full time and does over time.


“He has not allowed”...Girl, this is 2020.


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## Justmeplusone (Jul 17, 2020)

I am wondering for those that have went through divorce. If I start working and am close to my divorce does the judge take how much money I am making at my new job to see if I need to pay my ex husband? I barely worked and if I did it was part time.


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## LisaDiane (Jul 22, 2019)

Justmeplusone said:


> I am wondering for those that have went through divorce. If I start working and am close to my divorce does the judge take how much money I am making at my new job to see if I need to pay my ex husband? I barely worked and if I did it was part time.


Shouldn't you be asking a lawyer...? They would have much better, truer answers than what anyone could give you on here - I wouldn't trust the reality of anything that didn't come from a lawyer in your state.


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