Legal Question in Family Law in California

My wife and I decided after 3 months shy of 10 years to separate. I let her and the kids stay in the house during the week, and on the weekends she leaves and I stay with the kids ( 9 and 7 years old)

She works part time for my families business and assumes the "motherly" role of picking kids up etc. Currently I am paying all the bills ( rent, cars, credit cards, utilities etc) and she is giving me $1,000 a month to help with bills and give me some money for my own food etc ( I am staying with my mom currently) Neither of us is in a hurry to "file' divorce papers. My question is, is the longer I wait to file and continue to basically support her how will this change my financial obligation legally? Would she be entitled to alimony? Child support is not an issue, my kids I will provide for them. I do have an issue of supporting my ex when she is more the capable of getting a full time job and providing for herself. Wanted to proceed with a no contest divorce, but people have advised me to set up certain things legally to protect myself and be taken advantage of


Asked on 7/26/10, 8:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rhonda Ellifritz Law Offices of Rhonda Ellifritz

It may be a very good idea to at least consult an attorney. Many, like myself, offer the initial consultation free over the phone. The general rule, while not hard and fast, is that support is for 1/2 the length of the marriage. Something to consider when you say you are "not in a hurry to file." There are ways an attorney can push her to work, assuming she is not working full time. The thing you may want to consider before pushing her too hard to work more is that you may be responsible for 1/2 the child care she incurs because of her employment (I don't know how many kids there are, but child care isn't cheap!).

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Answered on 8/02/10, 7:09 pm


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