CA: Do I owe her alimony?

[emailkook]

We've been married since 2002 and as of March she moved to Texas to separate. We had been living together since 2000 and during the 9 years, I worked full time the whole 9 years while she never worked full time and did not even have a drivers license. She had a part time job for 4-5 months but that's it.

After she moved to Texas in March, we spoke about divorce and she asked for alimony of $800 month because she's never worked full time and only took care of me. She claims because she didn't work and had to rely on me, she needs this income from me.

Few weeks after deciding on alimony, she would up getting a drivers license in Texas along with getting a full time job now. I think it's fishy she didn't get a license or work for 9 years, but right after separating she got a full time job and license ASAP.

Is did entitled to alimony? Would the courts award alimony for someone that didn't work much at all during marriage, but decides to start working after the separation and can take care of herself now?

Rather than split credit cards, etc because she wasn't working, I had told her I'll take care of all the credit cards. So even with that factoring in now, how would CA decide whether this person should get alimony or not?

We're both in discussion about the alimony and I would like to get opinions from you guys that know about CA law.

Thanks!

 

[Gracie3787]

We've been married since 2002 and as of March she moved to Texas to separate. We had been living together since 2000 and during the 9 years, I worked full time the whole 9 years while she never worked full time and did not even have a drivers license. She had a part time job for 4-5 months but that's it.

After she moved to Texas in March, we spoke about divorce and she asked for alimony of $800 month because she's never worked full time and only took care of me. She claims because she didn't work and had to rely on me, she needs this income from me.

Few weeks after deciding on alimony, she would up getting a drivers license in Texas along with getting a full time job now. I think it's fishy she didn't get a license or work for 9 years, but right after separating she got a full time job and license ASAP.

Is did entitled to alimony? Would the courts award alimony for someone that didn't work much at all during marriage, but decides to start working after the separation and can take care of herself now?

Rather than split credit cards, etc because she wasn't working, I had told her I'll take care of all the credit cards. So even with that factoring in now, how would CA decide whether this person should get alimony or not?

We're both in discussion about the alimony and I would like to get opinions from you guys that know about CA law.

Thanks!

Have you been sending her any money at all?

If you haven't then that means that she has been fully supporting herself for 5 months and you *could* use that as a basis for contesting alimony request.

 

[mistoffolees]

We've been married since 2002 and as of March she moved to Texas to separate. We had been living together since 2000 and during the 9 years, I worked full time the whole 9 years while she never worked full time and did not even have a drivers license. She had a part time job for 4-5 months but that's it.

After she moved to Texas in March, we spoke about divorce and she asked for alimony of $800 month because she's never worked full time and only took care of me. She claims because she didn't work and had to rely on me, she needs this income from me.

It's going to depend on where the case is filed. If you file in CA, CA is very alimony-friendly and there might well be alimony for some period of time. If it is filed in TX, likelihood of alimony is reduced, especially if she's now working and supporting herself. Look up the rules for grounds for divorce in both states to see if you could file in one or the other.

Few weeks after deciding on alimony, she would up getting a drivers license in Texas along with getting a full time job now. I think it's fishy she didn't get a license or work for 9 years, but right after separating she got a full time job and license ASAP.

No, it would be fishy if she DIDN'T find a way to support herself. You had a marriage where you worked and she didn't. Ultimately, that was a joint choice (because you chose to stay married to her under those terms). When the marriage ended, she had 2 choices - either get a job or not get a job. She made the rational choice, so why is it fishy?

Is did entitled to alimony? Would the courts award alimony for someone that didn't work much at all during marriage, but decides to start working after the separation and can take care of herself now?

Yes. It happens all the time.

There is an implicit recognition that married couples may choose to spread the workload any way they wish. It is very common for only one spouse to work while married but after divorce, both spouses have to work. You made a choice as a married couple for her not to work.

You're also looking at only one of the purposes of alimony. Alimony can be to support someone who can't work, but more commonly, the purpose is to provide for a transition to single life. That could apply even if the person had worked while married. Heck, my ex is a nurse making $60-70 K per year - and still receiving alimony (less than a year left!). It all depends on circumstances.

Rather than split credit cards, etc because she wasn't working, I had told her I'll take care of all the credit cards. So even with that factoring in now, how would CA decide whether this person should get alimony or not?

We're both in discussion about the alimony and I would like to get opinions from you guys that know about CA law.

Be careful not to confuse property with alimony. You can offset one against the other, but the best way to do it is to figure out how much each of you gets in property division and how much alimony is likely to be reasonable FIRST, and then look at trading one off against the other.

I like the idea of taking on more credit card debt in lieu of alimony because if you leave her with the debt, you're relying on her to pay it - and your credit rating is ruined if she doesn't. But to come up with a fair split, it's easier if you first calculate everything separately and THEN trade off one against the other.