BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 414
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Bob Wieckowski, Chair
AB 414 (Fox) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
PROPOSED CONSENT (As Proposed to be Amended)
SUBJECT : SPOUSAL SUPPORT: MODIFICATION
KEY ISSUE : SHOULD A NON-CONTROVERSIAL LAW, WHICH ALLOWS A PARTY
TO SEEK NEW OR MODIFIED SPOUSAL SUPPORT WHEN A CHILD SUPPORT
ORDER TERMINATES (TYPICALLY BY THE CHILD REACHING THE AGE OF
MAJORITY), BUT WHICH SUNSETTED ON JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR, BE
REVIVED?
SYNOPSIS
This non-controversial family law bill addresses those family
law cases where a child support order terminates by what is
called "operation of law," which typically results when the
child or children reach the age of majority and are no longer
entitled to support. Prior to 2008, where some or no spousal
support was in effect when a child support order ended, the
termination of the child support order by operation of law did
not automatically allow the party who had received the child
support to go back to court to seek either new spousal support
(if they had not been receiving it already) or an increase in an
existing order of spousal support. Under the pre-2008 approach,
other supporting facts -- constituting a so-called "change of
circumstances" -- were required before a party seeking to change
a spousal support order was permitted to return to court to
change the order.
However in the 2007 legislative session Senator Harman carried
SB 415 (Chap. 247, Stats. 2007) on behalf of the Family Law
Section of the State Bar which allowed a party to automatically
be permitted to seek new or modified spousal support when a
child support order terminates. That bill originally sunsetted
after three years, but legislation by Senator Wright (SB 1482,
Chap. 297, Stats. 2010) extended the statute until January 1,
2014. This bill, sponsored by the Family Law Section of the
State Bar, re-enacts the statute, without the sunset. It is
supported by the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
and has no known opposition.
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SUMMARY : Reinstates a provision allowing termination of child
support to be a change of circumstances that may be the basis
for a request for modification of spousal support.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Eliminates the sunset date for the provision which states that
in a proceeding in which a spousal support order exists or in
which the court has retained jurisdiction over a spousal
support order, if a companion child support order is in
effect, the termination of child support shall constitute a
change of circumstances that may be the basis for a request
for modification of spousal support.
2)Requires that a motion to modify spousal support on the basis
of the change in circumstances caused by the termination of a
child support order be filed within six months of the
termination of the child support order.
3)Authorizes either party to request the appointment of a
vocational training counselor if a motion to modify spousal
support on that basis is filed.
4)Bars the availability of this "automatic" change of
circumstances doctrine in cases that resolve pursuant to a
stipulated marital settlement agreement, in order not to
discourage settlements of family law disputes at the time of
dissolution.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the court, in a judgment of dissolution of marriage
or legal separation, to order one party to pay spousal support
to the other party in an amount and for a duration that the
court deems just and reasonable based on the standard of
living established during the marriage. (Family Code section
4330. All further statutory references are to this code
unless otherwise noted.)
2)Imposes on parents a duty to support an unmarried child who
has not attained the age of 18 years. For a child who has
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attained the age of 18 years, but is still a full-time high
school student and is not self-supporting, the duty of support
is extended until the time the child completes the 12th grade
or attains the age of 19 years, whichever occurs first.
(Section 3901.)
3)Provided, until January 1, 2014, that in a proceeding in which
a spousal support order exists or in which the court has
retained jurisdiction over a spousal support order, if a
companion child support order is in effect, the termination of
child support shall constitute a change of circumstances that
may be the basis for a request for modification of spousal
support. (Section 4326.)
4)Provides that in a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or
for legal separation, the court may order a party to submit to
an examination by a vocational training counselor upon a
noticed motion, for good cause, by one of the parties.
(Section 4331(a).)
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed
non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : This non-controversial family law bill addresses
those family law cases where a child support order terminates by
what is called "operation of law," which typically results when
the child or children reach the age of majority and are no
longer entitled to support. Because child support is calculated
before spousal support, a child support order necessarily
reduces the money available to pay spousal support. Typically,
when a child support order exists, the spousal support order, if
one exists, is lower than it would be without the child support
order. When the child support order terminates, the spousal
support order may no longer be appropriate.
Prior to 2008, where some or no spousal support was in effect
when a child support order ended, the termination of the child
support order by operation of law did not automatically allow
the party who had received the child support to go back to court
to seek either new spousal support (if they had not been
receiving it already) or an increase in an existing order of
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spousal support. Under the pre-2008 approach, other supporting
facts -- constituting a so-called "change of circumstances" --
were required before the spouse seeking new or additional
spousal support was permitted to return to court to seek new or
additional spousal support.
However in the 2007 legislative session Senator Harman carried
SB 415 (Chap. 247, Stats. of 2007) on behalf of the Family Law
Section of the State Bar which altered the traditional rule on
an experimental basis to allow a party to automatically be
permitted to seek new or modified spousal support when a child
support order terminates. That bill was sunsetted after three
years by this Committee to allow time to see whether the process
led to increased family law litigation or other impacts.
Legislation by Senator Wright (SB 1482, Chap. 297, Stats. 2010)
extended the sunset until January 1, 2014. The Committee is not
aware of any negative impacts of the statute during its six
years of operation.
This bill, sponsored by the Family Law Section of the State Bar,
re-enacts the statute, without the sunset. In support of the
bill, the Family Law Section of the State Bar writes that
"Family Code Section 4326 addresses significant issues and has
worked well. This bill would continue the operation of this
important statute indefinitely."
This bill, in addition to eliminating the sunset date,
reasonably limits the availability of such automatic spousal
support request cases to those cases that are filed within six
months from the date the child support order terminated, in the
interest of fairness and certainty. In addition, the bill adds
a new provision permitting in such automatic spousal support
request cases either party to request the appointment of a
vocational training counselor. This is consistent with the
approach taken with spousal support requests at the initial
dissolution proceedings. Finally, the extended law will not be
available in cases that resolve pursuant to a stipulated marital
settlement agreement, in order not to discourage settlements of
family law disputes at the time of dissolution.
Technical Amendment : Since the previous statute sunsetted as of
January 1, 2014, this bill must reinstate the old section and
not simply amend a statute that no longer exists, as the current
version of the bill attempts to do. Thus, the bill must be
amended to appropriately accomplish this technical correction.
AB 414
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Family Law Section of the State Bar (sponsor)
Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334