Spousal support is basically of two types: temporary, and permanent. The purpose of temporary spousal support is to keep the status quo (make sure the supported spouse can maintain the marital standard of living) pending final resolution of the divorce/legal separation case.
In determining permanent spousal support, the family law judge must consider about a dozen different factors listed in Family Code Section 4320. The judge may use his/her reasonable discretion in granting permanent spousal support, just as long as he/she has weighed all of the factors listed in Section 4320. Some of the factors listed in Section 4320 that the judge must consider are: length of marriage; age and health of the spouses; earnings or earning capacities of the spouses, the amount of assets the spouses will have to live on; the duty of each spouse to make diligent effort to become self supporting; and the marital standard of living.
Although called permanent spousal support, it is not something that is always truly permanent. For example, the judge can possibly order permanent spousal support for four years at which point it will end. On the other hand, a permanent spousal support order can actually go on indefinitely if the circumstances warrant it, such as when the judge determines that the supported spouse will be unable to become self supporting due to age and/or health.
The advantage of having an attorney in this situation is to know which factors will benefit you, and which will not, and to know how to best obtain evidence regarding the factors that are beneficial to you and present that evidence to the judge.
