What is a petition for custody and visitation?

Unlike child support, spousal support is tax deductible to the spouse paying it (only those payments made after a court order is in place are tax deductible), and the spouse collecting it must claim the amount received in any given tax year as taxable income.

Property issues and division of community assets and debts are ordinarily resolved by a signed marital settlement agreement or by an agreement placed on the record (and later formalized in writing) at a mandatory settlement conference. If settlement is not reached, contested issues are set for trial for court determination.

Spousal support is a discretionary order, meaning the court has great freedom in determining what amount of support, if any, should be paid in a particular case, and for how long spousal support should be paid.

It is primarily based on each parent’s tax filing status (single, married or head of household) and average monthly income.

Physical custody means where (with which parent) the child will primarily reside. A court can order that both parents have significant time with the child. This can be called “joint custody”. The court could instead order that one parent will have physical custody, and the other parent will have visitation.

The other important factor that influences the amount of support that will be ordered is the amount of time each parent has physical responsibility for the child.