Spousal Support Grounds for Denying and Terminating Spousal Support

Grounds for Denying Spousal Support

California law provides for certain grounds on which the court can outright deny the award of spousal support. While the court has the discretion to deny an award by weighing and considering the factors that are relevant in making the spousal support order, Family Code Section 4321 states that the court may also deny support to a party in circumstances where:

•    The party has sufficient separate property,

•    The party is earning his/her own livelihood,

•    The party has acquired sufficient community property or quasi-community from the separation, OR

•    The custody of the children from the relationship has been awarded to the other party who is supporting them.

Grounds for Terminating Spousal Support

California family law also provides specific grounds in which the court may terminate the obligation to pay spousal support:

•    Orders with Fixed-Terms: Spousal support orders that explicitly contain a fixed duration automatically terminate at the end of the specified period. Of course, the court can extend the duration of spousal support if it has retained the authority to modify spousal support from its most recent order (Family Code Section 4335).

•    Contingent Orders: The obligation to pay spousal support may terminate upon the occurrence of a specified contingency event (Family Code Section 4334(a)). A contingency is any event or condition that may or may not happen. Spousal support may terminate depending on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a contingency. For example, a contingent order may terminate spousal support if the supported spouse fails to obtain employment within a certain period of time. The spouse may or may not obtain employment in this time, but if he/she does not, spousal support terminates.

•    Remarriage or Death: Unless there is an agreement between the parties stating otherwise, spousal support obligations will terminate upon the death of either spouse or the remarriage of the supported spouse (Family Code Section 4337).