HOW TO CALCULATE ALIMONY WITHOUT DISSOMASTER - CALIF. - VIDEO #35 (2020)

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Fifth video in seven part series explaining alimony (spousal support) laws in California. This video explains how you can calculate the amount of alimony without buying DissoMaster or learning how to run the program.

You can go to the courthouse where you filed your divorce petition. Almost all court houses will have computer terminals available to the public that have the DissoMaster software. Just ask one of the family law clerks where there is a computer terminal with DissoMaster that you can use. Sit down at one of the terminals, click on the DissoMaster icon. Run your calculation and then print the calculation.

If you don’t want to run the calculation yourself, ask the Family Law Facilitator to run the calculation for you. All courts have Family Law Facilitators. These are court staff and are frequently attorneys. Their job is to help the public with family law matters. They will help you fill out your divorce paperwork. They will help you apply for domestic violence restraining orders. Most Family Law Facilitators will also run a DissoMaster support calculation for you. Their services are free.

You can go on-line and use the State of California child support calculator for free. Google “State of California child support calculator”. This is a site maintained by the State of California. It includes a child support calculator that you can use for free. It also includes detailed instructions on how to run the program. Even though this free on-line calculator is for child support, it can sometimes also be used to calculate spousal support. This on-line calculator will calculate just child support. If child support is part of the calculation, it will also calculate spousal support. However, if spousal support is the only support issue, this free on-line calculator won’t work for just spousal support.

Another option you may want to consider is contacting a family law attorney in your area and pay that attorney to run the spousal support calculation for you. It should not take much time for an attorney to run the support calculation for you if you are properly prepared. You are not hiring the local attorney to do your divorce. You are only paying the attorney for a half hour or an hour of his or her time to just run the support calculation for you.

If you decide to hire a local attorney to run the support calculation for you, be prepared when you go to meet with the attorney. If you are not prepared, you will waste your time and money. In order to be properly prepared, you should bring with you copies of your last two federal income tax returns, copies of last year’s W-2 forms for both you and your spouse, and copies of the most recent pay stubs for both you and your spouse. If you and/or your spouse are self-employed, bring a current profit & loss statement for your business. If you own a home, bring a current mortgage statement. Also, know how much both you and your spouse will each be paying for health insurance after the divorce is concluded.

If you are going to meet with an attorney, first check with your employer to see if your employer participates in any legal plans. Many employers do. These legal plans typically agree to provide 30 minutes or an hour of fee legal consultations. This may be a way to get your spousal support calculation done for fee.