Marital Standard of Living and Spousal Support
How Do the Courts Decide Spousal Support?
Introduction
When a marriage finally dissolves, the two parties will
eventually have two households. Each will need to pay separate living expenses.
One person usually has a higher income than the other, and while there is a
statutory list of about 14 items the State of California has outlined, there
are three that apply most directly to the ‘Marital Standard of Living’ (sometimes
abbreviated MSOL or MSL) section. (1) each party’s earning ability, (2) each
party’s ability to pay support, and (3) each party’s needs as viewed through the
Marital Standard of Living evaluation.
While the three assessments look straightforward enough, the courts have
found murky areas that can affect both parties—the supporting and the supported
person—significantly. As always, the courts are looking to answer that most
important question:
What’s fair?
Definition of Marital Standard of Living
While the California Family Code recognizes that
financial circumstances fluctuate over time, the Marital Standard of Living is
‘calculated’ by considering the couple’s lifestyle just before the divorce.
Otherwise,
and in general terms, the Marital Standard of Living is a measure to ensure
that the lower-earning spouse (maybe the one taking care of the household and
children or aging parents, these days) is not negatively affected after the
marriage dissolves.
It
should be noted that the Marital Standard of Living is less relevant with passing
time as seen in Marriage of Rising (1999) 76 Cal. App. 4th 472 the Court ruling, which we will discuss in our next
blog post, “Three Ways the Length of Your Marriage Affects the Divorce
Settlement.”
The Courts Have Interpreted and Ruled Quite
Differently
You may have noticed the lifestyle “just
before the divorce” phrase above. Two cases stand out in this regard.
1) The parties in
Marriage of Smith (1990) 225 Cal. App3d 469 went to
lavish parties and lived considerably beyond their means. They financed their
excessive lifestyle by accessing credit they did not have. The supported party
wanted to continue living after the divorce in the same manner as before, and
requested a high spousal support figure. The Court, in that case, gave little
weight to the high-flying, credit-card-supported Marital Standard of Living,
and decided that it would not be fair to force the supporting party to continue
buying champagne and caviar for their soon-to-be “ex.”
2) In
quite the opposite case, in
Marriage
of Drapeau (2001)
93 Cal. App.4th 1086 the Court ruled that Savings
& Investments” were relevant categories of expenses as part of this
couple’s Marital Standard of Living. The judge ruled that support for the lower-earning
spouse should be sufficient for her (in this case) to continue making
investments as well as paying her living expenses. In this case, the family
spent very frugally and lived considerably below their means to invest a
significant portion of their income.
What’s Fair?
No one plans to get a divorce. As of 2018, the Center for
Disease Control CDC
reported the
divorce rate in the United States was 2.9 per 1000 people (excludes California,
which has not reported to the CDC since before the year 2000). The Pew Research
Center, however, says that the ‘gray divorce’ (couples over 50) stood at 10 per
every 1000 people (up from 5 per 1000 in 1990). This statistic is particularly
relevant to the Marital Standard of Living spousal support element, as incomes
and standard of living tend to rise with age.
The fact remains: When a marriage dissolves, there will
be two households, two mortgage or rent payments, two sets of utility bills,
repairs, etc. The caregiving duties will be split. Someone needs to either take
care of the children and/or elders or pay for them to be watched while they go
to work.
Bottom Line
The Marital Standard of Living part of the California
Family Code attempts to make the final outlay by the supporting individual
something they can afford while trying to assure that the lower-earning spouse
can make ends meet. It is hoped that each party will have the sense that their quality
of life after divorce is somewhat similar to the pre-divorce scenario. It
doesn’t always work perfectly.
Our firm tries our best to make sure both parties are
happy, and we attempt to rectify errors that may occur when the judge may have missed
their morning coffee on the day of your trial. Please contact us
if you’re
struggling. We’re here to help.
* * *
Daniel
R. Gold
is one of TLD Law’s Partners and heads up the Family Law Department
at the firm. As a Certified Family Law Specialist, he is one of only 5% of the
attorneys in the state of California with the certified specialist designation
in this delicate area of justice.
