CA long term spousal support

WaltzDue7997 · 2025-06-30T18:46:32+00:00

Reaching out to anyone who can provide facts based on experience. Has anyone tried lump sum settlement in long term marriage? What's the basis used for lump sum? Also, if anyone can pls share typical spousal support offered as % of their net income. Thanks

Brilliant_Ad5830 · 2025-04-15T15:17:53+00:00

Judges get the ultimate say in CA divorce and sometimes veer off script and off road. Results may vary.

One judge went on record saying he always tries to leave the higher earner with 60% of their paycheck. That can be a very realistic scenario for a single income household. Calculators try to land between the salaries. Your stbx may be expected to go back to work.

If you want to research yourself, google "CA 4320." There are some shakey standards here. But there are also some showstoppers like abuse if that applies. If there is nothing here that will get you out of alimony, find a calculator and punch numbers in. Any attorney should be able to do this.

So, that's more or less the expected trial outcome. You do not want to go anywhere near trial.

Instead, you want to settle. Word this very carefully in offers, but you want to give a rehabilitation vibe. You will provide spousal support until she gets back on her feet. It should have a definitive end date. And it should waive the judge's right to keep fiddling with alimony. You may want to lowball. If you're willing to pay five years, offer three. Never expose your hand under any circumstances. But one card you can possibly play is chicken. This is playing with fire. You make it well understood that a discount in alimony will still cost less than a trial. But this is REALLY playing with fire. Push it too far and you'll go bankrupt.

My dentist divorced with his practice. Similar thing. 20+ years. He settled with clear terms that limited alimony to 10 years. It messed up early retirement for him. But it otherwise left him able to retire by 65 with absolutely no ties to his ex (besides their disabled kid).

If you're shopping lawyers, make sure you tease out whether your candidate lawyer understands the difference between alimony in trial and alimony in settlement (again, you want to settle). It's scary how many don't.

CA_Poppy_25 · 2025-04-15T15:07:27+00:00

CA has an online calculator on spousal support. It asks a lot of questions regarding taxes, so I had my accountant help.

Title	CA long term spousal support
Author	WaltzDue7997
Upvotes	3
Comments	6
Date	April 15, 2025 2:05 AM UTC (1 year ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/1jzgg2j/ca_long_term_spousal_support/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/ca-long-term-spousal-support.1549631 https://theredarchive.com/post/1549631

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