What Is the Difference Between Alimony and Child Support?

Posted in Child Support on August 19, 2024

A divorce case in California could involve many financial matters, including asset division, alimony and child support. Understanding your rights and options, as well as how to protect them on a legal level, is important during a divorce. Otherwise, your spouse or their legal representative can take advantage of you during arbitration or a divorce trial. Start by learning the difference between alimony and child support and get the answers you need when you contact a dedicated family law attorney with Ratzer Dobis for help.

Alimony vs. Child Support

Alimony and child support are both financial awards a judge can order one spouse to pay in a California divorce case. A judge has the power to force one spouse to pay the other a sum for child and/or spousal support as part of a divorce settlement. 

Once issued, the paying party cannot negotiate the support order. The paying party may only request a modification of the order later, if his or her financial situation substantially changes. Each type of support order has a different purpose, however, and comes with different laws in California.

What is Alimony?

Alimony (now called spousal or partner support) is meant to maintain a spouse’s standard of living. Spousal support serves to pay the lower-earning spouse for his or her normal standard of living. It is a monetary award the courts might grant if one spouse earns significantly less than the other – especially if the lower-earning spouse gave up a career or schooling to raise a family. 

Spousal support is not meant to pay for a child’s needs, nor is child support meant to cover a parent’s expenses. A judge will look at both spouse’s incomes, previous standards of living, childcare requirements, the length of the marriage and many other factors when deciding on child support and/or alimony orders.

Is Spousal Support Ordered in All Divorces?

Spousal support is not ordered in every divorce. In fact, if a couple is on equal footing in terms of annual average salary, alimony may not be necessary. Generally, spousal support is only issued if the lower-earning spouse requires financial support from the higher-earning spouse. If there is no income discrepancy, alimony may not be awarded in your divorce case. 

Is Alimony a Dated Term?

The term alimony derives from the Latin word alimōnia, meaning nourishment or sustenance. From alimōnia also came the Scots law of aliment – the financial obligation each spouse will have to the other until the finalization of a divorce. The courts in California and many other states no longer refer to spousal support as alimony. They changed the term to better accommodate the modern concept. The official term in California is now spousal or partner support. You may still hear it referred to as alimony or spousal maintenance, however.

How Long Do You Need to Pay Alimony?

The length of your marriage will determine how long alimony should be paid in your case. If you were married less than 10 years, the judge will likely order alimony to be issued for at least half the number of years you were married. For example, if you were married for 10 years, alimony could be ordered for five years.

However, if your marriage lasted more than 10 years, permanent alimony could be granted according to the California Courts. Here, unless the spouse receiving support remarries or either spouse dies, alimony will continue.

Child Support 

Child support maintains a child’s standard of living. Standards of living refer to the home environment and lifestyle a family enjoyed before the divorce. In terms of child support, the courts maintain that a divorce should not affect a child’s standard of living. If the lower-earning spouse receives primary custody, therefore, the courts might make the higher-earning spouse pay child support to help maintain the child’s standard of living after a divorce.

How Child Support is Calculated in California

The California family court system uses the following formula to calculate how much support should be ordered in every child support case:

CS = K (HN – (H%)(TN))

These letters stand for the following:

  • CS – The amount of child support 
  • K – The parent’s combined total income 
  • HN – The higher-earning parent’s total monthly disposable income after taxes
  • H% – The higher-earning parents time spent with the child 
  • TN – The parent’s combined total monthly disposable income after taxes

How Long Do You Pay Child Support?

In most cases, child support is mandated until the child graduates high school or reaches the age of 18. However, support payments can continue if the child is still attending high school full-time or is disabled and unable to support themselves. Child support may be discontinued if the child becomes emancipated, marries or enters a domestic partnership, dies, or joins the military according to the Court of San Diego Family Law Facilitator.

Is Child Support Taxable in California?

The taxation of child support or spousal support orders is a significant issue many couples have during and after their divorce cases. Knowing how an order might affect you come tax time can keep you on the right side of the law with the Internal Revenue Service. You will not have to include child support you receive from your spouse as income for tax purposes. Child support orders are tax-neutral under federal tax laws. Your spouse will also be unable to deduct child support payments on his or her taxes.

If a judge issued a spousal support order, however, this amount could be taxable. The paying spouse will be able to deduct spousal support payments on his or her taxes if a judge issued the order on or before December 31, 2018. The party receiving the spousal support will have to pay taxes on the award at the state and federal levels. 

If issued after December 31, 2018, however, the rules change. An updated federal tax law makes spousal support non-taxable per the Judicial Branch of California. Parties with spousal support awards issued in 2019 or later may not deduct these awards from their taxes, nor will recipients have to pay taxes on them as income. State spousal support taxation, however, remains the same until the state decides to change it.

Connect With a Community-Driven California Family Law Attorney

Both alimony and child support will need to be determined if you decide to end your marriage or are no longer parenting your children under one roof. These divorce terms can become quite contentious and emotionally taxing. Make sure you have a highly skilled and compassionate California family law attorney from Ratzer Dobis standing by ready to protect you from being taken advantage of.

Our firm will do everything possible to ensure your child’s other parent or your soon-to-be ex-spouse is held accountable for their financial obligations. We can also protect you from being taken advantage of if your child’s other parent is attempting to alienate you from your child or your ex-spouse is demanding an outrageous amount of alimony. When you need help navigating complex and sensitive family law matters, fill out our online contact form or call our office to schedule your confidential consultation as soon as today.