Spousal support: factors.

Senator Alvarado-Gil's proposal to amend California's Family Code addresses spousal support awards in cases involving violent sexual felonies, expanding current protections to situations where courts find evidence of such crimes even without criminal convictions.

The legislation modifies existing spousal support regulations by prohibiting courts from ordering an injured spouse to pay support to a spouse who has perpetrated a violent sexual felony against them. Under the proposed changes, courts must order attorney's fees to be paid from community assets when economic circumstances warrant, while protecting an injured spouse's separate property from being used for their spouse's legal costs. The bill also allows courts to set the date of separation as the date of the incident and grants injured spouses full community property interest in their retirement and pension benefits.

The amendments include provisions for exceptional circumstances, permitting courts to waive these restrictions if a spouse presents documented evidence of their own history as a victim of violent sexual offenses or domestic violence perpetrated by the other party. The changes would apply to cases where the petition for dissolution is filed within five years of the incident or conviction, including any time served in custody, on probation, or parole.