How do I know how much longer spousal support I am expected to pay?

[FedUp1127]

In my divorce decree, there is no word about spousal support.
In one of the court documents, I read something like spousal support issue will be addressed by court. But I can not find that page out of 3000+pages.
My marriage was less than 10 years and ended in the state of CA. I think it is considered to be a short term marriage.
On the first court date, I was told to pay spousal support, back in 2010 and started paying.
There were periods of unemployment which the payments had to be stopped (filed income and expense with the court each time showing why I can not pay)
As of 2+ years ago, my ex put a lien on my salary to the maximum allowable extent to collect arrears
As far as I know, arrears something that has not been paid on time but since there were no end date to the spousal support situation, how will I know how much longer I should pay?
What is the procedure to stop these payments. What do I need to file with the court to request reconsideration?
Thank you

 

[Ohiogal]

In my divorce decree, there is no word about spousal support.
In one of the court documents, I read something like spousal support issue will be addressed by court. But I can not find that page out of 3000+pages.
My marriage was less than 10 years and ended in the state of CA. I think it is considered to be a short term marriage.
On the first court date, I was told to pay spousal support, back in 2010 and started paying.
There were periods of unemployment which the payments had to be stopped (filed income and expense with the court each time showing why I can not pay)
As of 2+ years ago, my ex put a lien on my salary to the maximum allowable extent to collect arrears
As far as I know, arrears something that has not been paid on time but since there were no end date to the spousal support situation, how will I know how much longer I should pay?
What is the procedure to stop these payments. What do I need to file with the court to request reconsideration?
Thank you

YOu need to read your final decree as to when spousal support stops. Come back after you have read that, state what it says about spousal support without names or identifiers, and then let us try to determine...

 

[LdiJ]

In my divorce decree, there is no word about spousal support.
In one of the court documents, I read something like spousal support issue will be addressed by court. But I can not find that page out of 3000+pages.
My marriage was less than 10 years and ended in the state of CA. I think it is considered to be a short term marriage.
On the first court date, I was told to pay spousal support, back in 2010 and started paying.
There were periods of unemployment which the payments had to be stopped (filed income and expense with the court each time showing why I can not pay)
As of 2+ years ago, my ex put a lien on my salary to the maximum allowable extent to collect arrears
As far as I know, arrears something that has not been paid on time but since there were no end date to the spousal support situation, how will I know how much longer I should pay?
What is the procedure to stop these payments. What do I need to file with the court to request reconsideration?
Thank you

If you were given an order to pay spousal support, at any point in time, that order continues until you (or a lawyer representing you) convinces a judge to cancel the order. You will however most likely be responsible for paying up any back support you owe, even if a judge cancels the order on an ongoing basis.

 

[zddoodah]

In one of the court documents, I read something like spousal support issue will be addressed by court.

And what exactly would this "court document" be?

But I can not find that page out of 3000+pages.

Then how do you know what it says? Or was the prior statement just a statement of something you recall reading at some point in the past.

On the first court date, I was told to pay spousal support, back in 2010 and started paying.

Told by whom? What was the purpose of this "court date"?

As of 2+ years ago, my ex put a lien on my salary to the maximum allowable extent to collect arrears

Then there must be a court order (in your divorce judgment or some other order) that obligates you to pay support.

how will I know how much longer I should pay?

You need to review the judgment or order that provides for payment of support, along with all subsequent documents relating to same.

What is the procedure to stop these payments.

File a motion.

What do I need to file with the court to request reconsideration?

Reconsideration of what? If you were ordered a decade ago to pay spousal support, it is way too late to "reconsider" anything. You can seek a modification or termination of the support obligation, but you'd have to show a change of circumstances that would warrant a modification or termination. It also obviously depends on how long you were ordered to pay support. If you've been paying more than ten years, then it may be that the support award was permanent. Also, any arrearage will remain due until paid. There's no getting around that.

I'd suggest you reach out to the attorney (if you had one) who represented you in the divorce. If you didn't have one, then you probably will need to visit the courthouse and ask to view the case file. A case that concluded over a decade ago is probably in off-site storage, so you probably should start by calling the clerk and asking about the procedure for viewing the case file.