Sometimes Sacramento divorce litigants will be in court for a child support hearing and will either not have custody orders in place, or one parent is not following the child custody and visitation orders. In such a case, one party will likely make the argument that the timeshare should be lower for the non-custodial parent, which increases the child support for the supported party. As stated in Marriage of Katzberg, the courts have discretion in determining the percentage of “primary physical responsibility” (time-sharing) to be imputed to each parent. The time-sharing adjustment is based on the parties’ respective periods of primary physical “responsibility” for the children rather than physical “custody.” So if dad has visitation on the weekends but the child is out with his or her friends, at an event, or spending the night at a friend’s house, dad still has custody and he should get this timeshare for purposes of calculating child support.

You will attach these forms to your Order to Show Cause or Notice of Motion in addition to the Application for Orders. The spousal support form is called “Spousal or Partner Support Declaration Attachment” and is Form FL-157.  It goes through the Family Code Section 4320 factors which are necessary for long-term spousal support, but not necessarily used for the court ordering temporary spousal support. Case law is clear that although Fam.C. §§ 4320/4330 effectively preempt reliance on local court standardized schedules and computer software programs in fixing “permanent” spousal support orders, their use is ordinarily proper—and in fact encouraged—on the issue of temporary spousal support.

[Marriage of Winter (1992) 7 CA4th 1926, 1933, 10 CR2d 225, 228;

see Marriage of Olson (1993) 14 CA4th 1, 5, 17 CR2d 480, 483, fn. 3;

Marriage of Wittgrove (2004) 120 CA4th 1317, 1327–1328, 16 CR3d 489, 496–497] ;

In a temporary spousal support request, the court may consider the needs and ability to pay, but there is not enough time at a pre-trial law and motion hearing to go through all the factors which is why the court almost routinely relies on the guideline formula (using X-Spouse).  Yet this form will be helpful for the court to see the big picture right away and will ultimately be used when the court sets permanent or long-term spousal support at the end of your divorce.

Anyone that has or is going through a divorce should seek the guidnace of an experienced Sacrament divorce attorney. These Sacramento Family Law experts an help you navigate the long-term spousal support issue in your Sacramento or Placer divorce case.

The attorneys of Miller & Associates, Attorneys LLP, provide the following services throughout the Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties. For more information about forms and other resources for obtaining a Sacramento Divorce, visit www.saccourt.ca.gov/family.

Divorce: With 13 years of experience working in the field of family law (both before and after we finished law school), we are well-qualified to give our clients transparent road maps and efficient guidance through the rocky road of divorce.

Custody and Visitation: If you have reason to believe that your spouse is deliberately poisoning your children’s attitudes toward you, learn what legal actions we can help you take to combat this unethical cultivation of parental alienation syndrome.

Assets and Debt: California is a “community property state,” meaning that all assets acquired during the marriage are part of the marital estate owned by both spouses.

Child Support: The standard calculation of child support used by the state of California takes into account each parent’s income and time spent with the child.

Spousal Support: There are many more gray areas to consider when judges look at the 10 or more factors outlined in family code 4320 regarding spousal support.

Adoptions: At the law offices of Miller & Associates, we work hard to deliver legal services both efficiently and thoroughly. We want to make sure that any adoption that we facilitate as family law attorneys cannot be reversed.

Retirement orders: Call Miller & Associates to schedule a consultation on your particular circumstances when you or your spouse (or both) have retirement benefits that have not been divided, which includes pensions, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA), 401(k), 403(b), etc.

Premarital agreements: Many people with solid marriages appreciate the fact that financial matters are clearly spelled out in a premarital agreement that both had a hand in crafting and signing before the wedding.

Domestic violence/restraining orders: People often have the misconception that domestic violence must involve physical harm or contact. In fact, domestic violence can take the form of threats or harassment, including unwelcome phone calls.

Mediation: Mediation involves a neutral third party who facilitates constructive dialogue between separating spouses. It is a non-adversarial process that enables divorcing couples to reach mutually acceptable solutions regarding most divorce issues, including spousal support, property division, child support and child custody.

Collaborative Law: The collaborative law process is based upon the belief that if parties are similarly committed to full disclosure, settlement and the avoidance of litigation, they will be more than able to reach mutually satisfactory agreements.

Limited Scope Services: Our limited scope services are designed to be a cost-effective solution for individuals who cannot afford to hire an attorney to handle their entire case, but who still need legal assistance with at least one crucial family law issue.

Paralegal Services: In most uncontested cases, clients require very minimal legal services. This is precisely why our paralegal services are perfect for uncontested divorces and other uncontested family law matters. Our paralegals can assist with document preparation, saving you both time and money.

Litigation:
- Historically the way people divorce.
- Expensive – communication goes up from party to attorney to judge
- Focus is on the past.
- Not confidential.
- Traumatic emotionally.

Mediation:
- Impartial and neutral process where two people find a fair and practical way to end their marriage, divide their property and, if minor children are involved, continue to parent their children as sensibly as possible.
- Assisted negotiation.
- Preferred way to resolve a marriage because efficient, less expensive that litigation and allows the Parties to make decisions, not Judge.
- Each party keeps their power to control the outcomes of the divorce because decisions are made mutually by both Parties with the help of specially trained mediators.
- Focus is on the future.
- Confidential process.
- Best option emotionally for parties

Collaborative Law:
- Each hires mediator trained attorney. If process fails, then need to get new attorneys.
- More expensive than mediation and less expensive than litigation
- Speak to lawyers who then speak to each other
- May involve mental health professionals as divorce coaches.
- Emotional costs are yet to be studied.

The attorneys at Miller and Associates, Attorneys LLP are fully trained and certified as divorce mediators. For more information, please contact us through the form on the right.