California Spousal Support Lawyer

Serving Contra Costa and Solano Counties

In California, spousal support (a.k.a. alimony or maintenance) is mandated for divorcees who are designated "dependent spouses," i.e. the people who are not the main wage earners, such as stay-at-home-moms. How much spousal support is provided, and for how long, depends on many factors.

At The Law Offices of Susan E. Christiansen, our lawyers can help people across the country through the issues of California spousal support. Over the years, we have guided thousands of people through all kinds of family law issues, including divorce, paternity, military family law, etc.

Forming California Spousal Support

California courts have the power to determine the duration and the amount of spousal support for each case. The typical arrangements are as follows:

Duration: For marriages lasting ten years or less, spousal support often lasts half as long as the duration of the marriage. Thus, if your marriage lasted 6 years, you can expect 3 years of spousal support. For marriages lasting ten years or more, courts will typically not set firm dates for termination of support, but guaranteed lifetime support is rare.

Amount: Determining the amount of California spousal support is complex, depending on the earning capacity of each spouse, any necessary rehabilitative support, the established standard of living, the duration of the marriage, etc. To even get a reasonable estimate of the support involved in your case, you will need to speak with an attorney.

Modifications and Enforcement

Long after the amount and duration of spousal support are settled, problems can still arise. Our lawyers can help anyone with either modifications to an existing support structure or enforcement of payments.

Tell Us Your Problem

To speak with an attorney about any spousal support issue in Solano County or Contra Costa County, California, contact The Law Offices of Susan E. Christiansen. We accept all major credit cards, including Visa, American Express, MasterCard, and Discover.

From law offices in Fairfield, California, our lawyers help people throughout Solano County, Contra Costa County, and the California Bay Area, including Fairfield, Benicia, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Vacaville, Vallejo, Solano, Martinez, Clayton, Lafayette, Pleasanton, Suisun City, and more. We also welcome clients from Travis Air Force Base.