Spousal Support

Merrisa L. Coleman-Bishop - Silicon Valley Spousal Support Attorney

California alimony lawyer Merrisa Coleman-Bishop advises and represents clients in divorces and domestic partner dissolutions about their rights with respect to spousal support, temporary or rehabilitative support, and other forms of payment from one spouse to the other based on need and disparity of earning capacity. For specific advice about your situation, contact her in San Jose.

Spousal support for varying periods and in varying amounts can be awarded by the Family Court judge in situations such as the following:

• Long-term marriage, where one spouse was a stay-at-home mother or father
• Substantial disparity in earning capacity between the spouses due to education, professional experience, or vocational qualifications
• One spouse or partner needs support in a transitional period to develop self-sufficiency in maintaining an appropriate standard of living

Other complicating factors can include health or medical conditions that can interfere with maintenance of a professional career, the terms of a premarital agreement that waives rights to spousal support in circumstances where it might otherwise be paid, and the negotiation of property division terms with tax consequences, especially in high-asset divorce cases. In many cases, the parties can agree to characterize what essentially are community property division decisions as spousal support, with both parties doing better than they otherwise would due to the tax attributes of the property and payments involved.

Santa Clara County spousal support attorney Merrisa Coleman-Bishop can advise you as to the likelihood that your right or obligation to pay spousal support would be upheld in court, and negotiate your position from a fully informed position. She can also help with the enforcement or modification of spousal support orders. For more information about her ability to protect and advance your interests in a spousal support dispute, contact San Jose alimony lawyer Merrisa Coleman-Bishop.