At the Redlands, California, divorce and family law practice of attorney Twin Lawyers, LLP , it is my mission to provide my clients with both the knowledge and the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the process of finding a legal resolution to their family law concern.

In California, child support is decided based upon very specific statutory child support formula that takes into account the income of both parents as well as the time each parent is in custody of the child. A child support order can be modified if family situations substantially change. Spousal support is far more complex. A spousal support (“alimony”) agreement will need to be made either by the couple themselves or by a family law judge in divorce court.

Collaborative Law

I assist my clients with the full range of divorce-related legal actions, including alimony agreements. When appropriate-when couples are cooperative and demonstrate a desire to work together-I encourage my clients to use collaborative law divorce or the mediation process to achieve their goals with greater speed, more privacy, and far fewer bad feelings.

Contact me if you and your partner are considering a cooperative divorce.

Litigation for Spousal Support

There are two primarily questions involved in a support decision: how much income is there, and how much support should be given to the spouse with the smaller income.

It can be just as complicated to determine income as it is to divide marital assets, especially when a spouse is a business owner, is self-employed, has multiple employers, or has other sources of income. It may require the help of a tenacious and experienced attorney and the expertise of a forensic accountant to reach a fair calculation.

Did you help put your spouse through law school, medical school, or some other graduate degree program before they asked for a divorce? We may need to hire a career counselor to advise the court on your spouse’s income potential and how that should relate to your support payments.

The court will also have to determine the amount of support needed for the lower-income or no-income partner to get on their feet. As a general rule, the court will order support for the lower-wage-earning spouse for half the length of time of the marriage. The court will expect that each party will become self-supporting in time.

We will examine the costs associated with helping the low-wage earner to become self-supporting, including the possibility of school or other professional training. Sometimes more support early on to improve the employability and self-sufficiency of the low-wage-earning spouse can reduce spousal and child support payments later.

Contact the Twin Lawyers, where you can also find the best spousal and child support lawyer, for an aggressive investigation of income and marital assets and a just division of property in your divorce case.

AttTwin Lawyers, LLP provides legal counsel to individuals and families in Redlands and Riverside counties in California, including the cities of Redlands, San Bernardino, Yucaipa, Fontana, Loma Linda, and Riverside.