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22 J. Contemp. Legal Issues 309 (2014-2015)
Age and Health as Factors for Court-Ordered Alimony Decisions

handle is hein.journals/contli22 and id is 321 raw text is: Age and Health as Factors for Court- Ordered Alimony Decisions JOANN BUSSAYABUNTOON (2011)* Age and health of the parties appears midway down the list of factors to be considered by the California court tasked with determining who gets alimony, in what amount, and for how long.' This factor-actually two factors the courts frequently treat as independent of each other (while relating them intimately to other factors on the legislative list)-assumed importance after the shift to no-fault divorce, as California's courts began to focus on the support of post-divorce spouses who had limited ability to become self-sufficient. Today, as California alimony law has evolved, the question deserves to be asked whether this importance is more appearance than reality. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FACTOR(S) Prior to the no-fault era, California's courts often assessed the age and health of the divorcing spouses in determining the amount and duration of alimony awards.2 Age of the parties as a support factor made its first appearance in California statutes with the state's enactment in 1955 of the * PH Note: Joann's essay has been revised to account, inter alia, for developments between 2011 when it was first created and December 2014. See also the Postscript to this essay by Michelle Pefia. 1. See Cal. Family Code § 4320(h). 2. See, e.g., Arnold v. Arnold, 76 Cal. App. 2d 877, 885-86 (1946) (reversing divorce court's alimony award as too small and too short given the supported spouse's age, health, and employability).

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