During the pendency of any proceeding for dissolution of
marriage or for legal separation of the parties or under
Division 8 (commencing with Section 3000)(custody of
children) or in any proceeding where there is at issue the
support of a minor child or a child for whom support is
authorized under Section 3901 or 3910, the court may order
(a) the husband or wife to pay any amount that is
necessary for the support of the wife or husband,
consistent with the requirements of subdivisions (i) and
(m) of Section 4320 and Section 4325, or (b) either or
both parents to pay any amount necessary for the support
of the child, as the case may be.
(a) In a judgment of
dissolution of marriage or legal separation of the
parties, the court may order a party to pay for the
support of the other party an amount, for a period of
time, that the court determines is just and
reasonable, based on the standard of living
established during the marriage, taking into
consideration the circumstances as provided in Chapter
2 (commencing with Section 4320).
(b) When making an order for spousal support, the
court may advise the recipient of support that he or
she should make reasonable efforts to assist in
providing for his or her support needs, taking into
account the particular circumstances considered by the
court pursuant to Section 4320, unless, in the case of
a marriage of long duration as provided for in Section
4336, the court decides this warning is inadvisable.
In ordering spousal support under this part, the
court shall consider all of the following
circumstances:
(a) The extent to which the earning capacity of
each party is sufficient to maintain the standard of
living established during the marriage, taking into
account all of the following:
(1) The marketable skills of the supported party;
the job market for those skills; the time and expenses
required for the supported party to acquire the
appropriate education or training to develop those
skills; and the possible need for retraining or
education to acquire other, more marketable skills or
employment.
(2) The extent to which the supported party's
present or future earning capacity is impaired by
periods of unemployment that were incurred during the
marriage to permit the supported party to devote time
to domestic duties.
(b) The extent to which the supported party
contributed to the attainment of an education,
training, a career position, or a license by the
supporting party.
(c) The ability of the supporting party to pay
spousal support, taking into account the supporting
party's earning capacity, earned and unearned income,
assets, and standard of living.
(d) The needs of each party based on the standard
of living established during the marriage.
(e) The obligations and assets, including the
separate property, of each party.
(f) The duration of the marriage.
(g) The ability of the supported party to engage
in gainful employment without unduly interfering with
the interests of dependent children in the custody of
the party.
(h) The age and health of the parties.
(i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic
violence, as defined in Section 6211, between the
parties, including, but not limited to, consideration
of emotional distress resulting from domestic violence
perpetrated against the supported party by the
supporting party, and consideration of any history of
violence against the supporting party by the supported
party.
(j) The immediate and specific tax consequences to
each party.
(k) The balance of the hardships to each party.
(l) The goal that the supported party shall be
self-supporting within a reasonable period of time.
Except in the case of a marriage of long duration as
described in Section 4336, a “reasonable period of
time” for purposes of this section generally shall be
one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing
in this section is intended to limit the court's
discretion to order support for a greater or lesser
length of time, based on any of the other factors
listed in this section, Section 4336, and the
circumstances of the parties.
(m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse
shall be considered in making a reduction or
elimination of a spousal support award in accordance
with Section 4325.
(n) Any other factors the court determines are
just and equitable.