BILL NUMBER: AB 1522	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  718
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 28, 2012
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 23, 2012
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 27, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 20, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 7, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 26, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Atkins
   (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Jeffries and Mitchell)
   (Principal coauthors: Senators Alquist, Anderson, Liu, and Wyland)

   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Block, Fletcher, Garrick, Harkey,
Hueso, Jones, and Miller)
   (Coauthors: Senators Kehoe, Strickland, and Vargas)

                        JANUARY 18, 2012

   An act to amend Section 4320 of, and to add Section 4324.5 to, the
Family Code, relating to family law.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1522, Atkins. Family law: monetary awards.
   Existing law provides that, in addition to any other remedy
authorized by law, when a spouse is convicted of attempting to murder
the other spouse or of soliciting the murder of the other spouse,
the injured spouse shall be entitled to 100% of the community
property interest in his or her retirement and pension benefits, and
a prohibition of specified support or insurance benefits from the
injured spouse to the convicted spouse. Existing law defines "injured
spouse" for these purposes. Under existing law, a family court is
required to consider specified factors in ordering spousal support,
including the criminal conviction of an abusive spouse.
   This bill would expand the above-described provisions to apply
when a spouse is convicted of a specified violent sexual felony
against the other spouse, and would require the court to consider the
convicted spouse's criminal conviction for a violent sexual felony
in ordering spousal support, as specified. The bill would also
require the court to order the attorney's fees and costs to be paid
from the community assets if warranted by economic circumstances.
Under the bill, the injured spouse, as defined, would not be required
to pay any of the convicted spouse's attorney's fees out of his or
her separate property. The bill would further, at the request of the
injured spouse, define the date of the parties' legal separation as
the date of the incident giving rise to the conviction, or earlier if
the court finds that the circumstances justify an earlier date, for
community property purposes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 4320 of the Family Code is amended to read:
   4320.  In ordering spousal support under this part, the court
shall consider all of the following circumstances:
   (a) The extent to which the earning capacity of each party is
sufficient to maintain the standard of living established during the
marriage, taking into account all of the following:
   (1) The marketable skills of the supported party; the job market
for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported
party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop
those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to
acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
   (2) The extent to which the supported party's present or future
earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were
incurred during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote
time to domestic duties.
   (b) The extent to which the supported party contributed to the
attainment of an education, training, a career position, or a license
by the supporting party.
   (c) The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support,
taking into account the supporting party's earning capacity, earned
and unearned income, assets, and standard of living.
   (d) The needs of each party based on the standard of living
established during the marriage.
   (e) The obligations and assets, including the separate property,
of each party.
   (f) The duration of the marriage.
   (g) The ability of the supported party to engage in gainful
employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent
children in the custody of the party.
   (h) The age and health of the parties.
   (i) Documented evidence of any history of domestic violence, as
defined in Section 6211, between the parties, including, but not
limited to, consideration of emotional distress resulting from
domestic violence perpetrated against the supported party by the
supporting party, and consideration of any history of violence
against the supporting party by the supported party.
   (j) The immediate and specific tax consequences to each party.
   (k) The balance of the hardships to each party.
   (  l  ) The goal that the supported party shall be
self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. Except in the
case of a marriage of long duration as described in Section 4336, a
"reasonable period of time" for purposes of this section generally
shall be one-half the length of the marriage. However, nothing in
this section is intended to limit the court's discretion to order
support for a greater or lesser length of time, based on any of the
other factors listed in this section, Section 4336, and the
circumstances of the parties.
   (m) The criminal conviction of an abusive spouse shall be
considered in making a reduction or elimination of a spousal support
award in accordance with Section 4324.5 or 4325.
   (n) Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.

  SEC. 2.  Section 4324.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:
   4324.5.  (a) In any proceeding for dissolution of marriage where
there is a criminal conviction for a violent sexual felony
perpetrated by one spouse against the other spouse and the petition
for dissolution is filed before five years following the conviction
and any time served in custody, on probation, or on parole, the
following shall apply:
   (1) An award of spousal support to the convicted spouse from the
injured spouse is prohibited.
   (2) Where economic circumstances warrant, the court shall order
the attorney's fees and costs incurred by the parties to be paid from
the community assets. The injured spouse shall not be required to
pay any attorney's fees of the convicted spouse out of the injured
spouse's separate property.
   (3) At the request of the injured spouse, the date of legal
separation shall be the date of the incident giving rise to the
conviction, or earlier, if the court finds circumstances that justify
an earlier date.
   (4) The injured spouse shall be entitled to 100 percent of the
community property interest in the retirement and pension benefits of
the injured spouse.
   (b) As used in this section, "violent sexual felony" means those
offenses described in paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (11), and (18) of
subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code.
   (c) As used in this section, "injured spouse" means the spouse who
has been the subject of the violent sexual felony for which the
other spouse was convicted.