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Hi, everyone, and welcome to another Family Law Matters. I’m Dr. Michael Mantell, always privileged to be joining Bonnie Rabinovitch-Mantel, who is the owner and managing partner of the Primus Family Law Group right here in San Diego. Hi, Bonnie.
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Hi, Michael. How are you doing today? We’re in San Diego, Bonnie. We’re doing great.
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It’s warm. It’s warm. Beautiful weather.
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The sun is shining. It’s a very beautiful place to be. Bonnie, a question has come up that it’s about alimony.
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After a divorce judgment has been completed, people have gone through attorneys, the courts, or mediation, or whatever it may be, a judgment has been arrived at. It is finished. It’s final.
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It’s complete. But someone decides, hey, I need to talk about getting alimony. Maybe I didn’t do it the right way, or I didn’t ask.
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For whatever reason, now I want to talk about this. Talk a little bit about this. The divorce judgment is complete, but someone wants to now bring up issues of alimony, spousal support.
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You know, Michael, that’s not so uncommon because it depends. If you have waived your right to spousal support, that’s what we call alimony in California. No, you’re not going back and getting it.
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So that was, you know, sorry. And if you had an attorney, that attorney needed to explain that to you. If you’ve been married a short term, you’re only entitled to alimony for half the length of the marriage.
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So if that amount of time has come and gone, also no, you’re not going to get any more. So wait, what is a short term? Short term is less than 10 years. So if you’ve married 10 years or less, you’re entitled to half, up to five years, right? 10 years, up to five years.
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So if, let’s say you’ve been getting spousal support for five years and it took that long to get your judgment done, then no, you’re not allowed to get it anymore. But if you didn’t ask for it, you didn’t get it, or you’re in the process of getting, but your circumstances have changed, you may be able to reopen that door and ask for it. What happens to a couple that have been married more than 10 years on this issue of spousal support? That’s a long-term marriage, and most judges won’t let you waive it.
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Most judges will reserve over the issue so that if something does come up, you will have the ability to go back and say, hey, I got hit by that bus and lived, and I need some financial assistance. Mm-hmm. So then someone could come back to the Promise Family Law Group and say, hey, we need to talk about me getting spousal support that we didn’t talk about because I didn’t think I needed it or for whatever reason.
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Or for your circumstances have changed, it’s a long-term marriage, then you may be able to get it. And yes, in that situation, you need an attorney who’s going to be able to go through and explain to you and the judge the law that goes behind why you may be entitled to still get it. It sounds a bit complicated, and that’s why we’re fortunate to have experts like you and Primus Family Law Group.
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And if people are in this situation and they want to get some more information about this and take advantage of a free 30-minute consultation to dig into this with you, how can they reach you? They can reach us directly at 619-574-8000. Or you can reach us online at www.PrimusFamilyLaw.com. And you will get on our calendar for a free 30-minute telephone or Zoom consultation. And this can apply even if they didn’t use you to get the divorce judgment, correct? Of course.
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Yeah. Okay, good. Okay.
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Give us the phone number again. 619-574-8000. Terrific.
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Bonnie, thank you for a very interesting Family Law Matters this week. We’ll see you next time. Bye, Michael.
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Bye-bye.