Buyouts Of Community Property And Spousal Support In Divorce

The process of a divorce in California can be complex in nature. There are a large amount of cases in the Orange County family law court, each a unique case with its own complexities. Sometimes there are cases where one of the parties gets a community property buyout, and then that party wants spousal support too.  Are their demands justified in such a scenario? Here are some issues to be aware of.

Why Should A Spouse Get Spousal Support When She Gets Enough Community Property?

The answer to this question is simple – a spouse is generally going to get spousal support even if he/she has got a hefty community buyout because the division of community assets and the payment of spousal support are 2 separate issues.  The primary argument here is that just because a spouse has contributed to the growth of the community property doesn’t mean he/she should not receive spousal support. Any action for such is likely to be seen as a means of punishing the spouse for his/her contribution to an increase in the community property and that is likely to be an infringement of his/her rights.

Is There An Argument Against Payment of Spousal Support In That Instance?

The case we will look at is the Orange County divorce case of In Re Marriage of Martin in 1991. The lawyers of M. Martin, who was going through an Orange County divorce, wanted to limit the amount of spousal support to his wife. The divorce lawyers on Martin’s side argued that their client could not afford to pay to his wife spousal support in lieu of the fact that she had already received a substantial community buyout. The trial court disagreed.

The View Of The Court

The court held that spousal support and community buyouts are two different aspects of divorce. The court was of the opinion that one of them could not finance the other. This meant that the plea by Martin’s lawyer of having to pay no spousal support in lieu of the community buyout being received was rejected.

The simple conclusion of the case and of the principle here is that you cannot pay off your spouse with their own money and then refuse their claim for spousal support.  However, it is possible to negotiate a buy-out of spousal support as part of a divorce settlement, but to do so requires the knowledge and expertise of a competent Orange County divorce attorney to do it right and have it enforceable now and in the future.

Gerald A. Maggio is an experienced Orange County divorce and family law lawyer and family law attorney located in Irvine, California, serving the Orange County and Riverside areas. Mr. Maggio assists clients with legal issues including divorce, legal separation, divorce mediation, child custody, prenuptial agreements, stepparent adoptions, and other family law issues. Mr. Maggio has practiced law in California since 1999, and founded The Maggio Law Firm in 2005, focusing exclusively on divorce and family law matters.