The Ten-Year Rule and Spousal Support
Family Code 4336(b) designates that any marriage lasting over ten years in length is one of “long duration.” Under accompanying family laws, any marriage that is determined to be of long duration requires the Court to reserve jurisdiction over spousal support indefinitely, unless the parties agree to terminate that jurisdiction.
When a Court retains jurisdiction over spousal support indefinitely, the Court can, at any time, modify spousal support up or down. Conversely, when a Court indicates a date when spousal support jurisdiction terminates, after that specified date, spousal support is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Court, denoting it is terminated forever.
The key in this scenario is the wording that the Court uses when initially setting spousal support. If the applicable language is along the lines of “until further order of this Court,” the jurisdiction is retained. However, if the Court specifies that “spousal support terminates on,” then the Court will be divested of jurisdiction to enter or modify any spousal support after the date specified.
The ten-year time limit is not etched in stone and is merely a presumption that can be modified up and down according to the particular facts of any given case. Family Code 4336(b) specifically states that “nothing in this subdivision precludes a Court from determining that a marriage of less than 10 years is a marriage of long duration.”
In Marriage of Baker, (1992) 3 Cal. App. 4th 491, the California Appellate Court held that a marriage under ten years still could be one of long duration, even though it fell short of the official ten-year mark. Husband in this case argued that permanent jurisdiction for spousal support would “chain him to the carcass of this dead marriage for the rest of his days.” The Court seemed more concerned with the well-being of the wife in the future.
It seems that Judges will be prone to error on the side of caution for marriages close to the ten-year mark. The Court’s concern is that if jurisdiction to award or modify spousal support is terminated, and a spouse needs financial assistance, the Court would be unable to provide a forum to request such assistance. Although this may lead to the situation of being chained to a dead marriage for the rest of your days, the Court is willing to impose this hardship on a supporting spouse under the right circumstances.