California Alimony & Spousal Support (2026)
Unlike child support, California has no fixed formula for how much alimony (spousal support) costs or how long it lasts. A judge decides both based on a list of factors set out in Cal. Fam. Code § 4320. There is no calculator that can honestly give you an exact number here — but the factors below are what actually drives the decision.
What determines alimony in California
Under Cal. Fam. Code § 4320 (California Family Code § 4320), a court considers:
- Extent to which each party's earning capacity can maintain the marital standard of living, including the supported party's marketable skills, job market for those skills, and any time/cost needed for retraining or education
- Extent to which the supported party's earning capacity was impaired by periods of unemployment devoted to domestic duties
- Extent to which the supported party contributed to the supporting party's education, training, career, or professional license
- Supporting party's ability to pay, considering earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, and standard of living
- Needs of each party based on the marital standard of living
- Obligations and assets of each party, including separate property
- Duration of the marriage
- Supported party's ability to work without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children in their custody
- Age and health of the parties
- Documented history of domestic violence between the parties
- Immediate and specific tax consequences to each party
- Balance of hardships to each party
- Goal that the supported party become self-supporting within a reasonable period of time
- Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable
Good to know
- California has no formula that calculates a final spousal support number in a judgment (unlike its guideline formula for temporary support during a pending case) — for post-judgment ("permanent") support, § 4320 requires the court to weigh the factors above with no set weighting or calculation.
- The one numeric guidepost in § 4320 concerns duration, not amount: for marriages under the "long duration" threshold, a "reasonable period" for support is generally described as about half the length of the marriage — but the statute explicitly says this does not limit the court's discretion to order a greater or lesser duration based on the other factors.
Also need a child support estimate?
Alimony and child support are calculated completely separately in California. If you also have children, use our free California child support calculator — that one does compute a real number, based on the official guideline formula.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an alimony formula in California?
No, not for the final amount. California courts often use a computer-based guideline formula to set temporary spousal support while a divorce is pending, but for the long-term support amount decided in the final judgment, Cal. Fam. Code § 4320 requires the judge to weigh a list of factors with no formula — there is no calculation that produces a guaranteed number.
What factors determine alimony in California?
Under Family Code § 4320, a California court weighs each spouse's earning capacity and marketable skills, whether the supported spouse's career was impaired by domestic duties or helped the other spouse's career, the paying spouse's ability to pay, each party's needs and the marital standard of living, the marriage's duration, each spouse's age and health, any documented domestic violence, tax consequences, the balance of hardships, and the goal of the supported spouse eventually becoming self-supporting.
Source: California Family Code § 4320 · Last verified 2026-07-22
Disclaimer: This page explains the general legal framework for alimony in California and is for informational purposes only — it is not legal advice and does not predict the outcome of any specific case. Laws change; always verify with the official source above or a family law attorney licensed in California before making decisions.