Legal Question in Family Law in California

My husband and I have been living together since 2005, had a child together in 2007, and got married in Feb 2008. We maintianed seperate finaces and accounts and split all living expenses evenly throughout the relationship until we made the mutual decision for me to quit my job in May 2008 to stay home with the baby. I worked in social services and my husband worked in IT and his salary was 2x mine so it made more sense for me to quit then him. To supplement the household income I opened a daycare form my home but only made 3k the first year and 7k the second year. At that time we continued to maintain seperate finances/accounts however my husband assumed sole responsibility for all the household expenses (rent.utilites, groceries). Our relationship had been disintagrating for at least a couple years but we stayed together to try to avoid a "broken home" for our daughter. Our efforts to make it work failed and all intimacy and marital relations stopped around July 2009 and we have been living in seperate rooms since April 2010. I closed my daycare business and started job searching in april 2010. My plan was to find a job so that I could file for divorce,support myself, share 50% custody of my child and not have to try to collect alimony or child support. Just as I started to get interviews in June 2010, my husband was laid of his job. I did get a job offer in July and started my new job August 2 2010. My husband has been job searching but as of today, sept 3, 2010 he has not even gotten a single interview.

My question is, if I continue with my plan to move out and file for divorce with shared custody will I have to pay my husband alimony?


Asked on 9/03/10, 8:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

It is highly doubtful you would be ordered to pay spousal support, but not absolutely impossible. You will, however, wind up paying child support if you have 50/50 custody, until he finds work or you can get an order that he is not trying hard enough and therefore his earning potential should be used to calculate support.

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Answered on 9/08/10, 10:35 pm


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