A Huntington Beach man is aiming to reform California’s alimony laws by restricting the length of time that former spouses are required to pay their exes after a divorce or legal separation.

Steve Clark tells the Los Angeles Times that he would never have gotten married 25 years ago had he known that he’d one day have to be paying his ex-wife $1,000 a month for the rest of his life. His ballot proposal would restrict the period of time that former spouses receive support to five years. Under current law, spouses may receive support for “a reasonable period of time,” and judges are given a lot of latitude when it comes to considering the long list of criteria for determining spousal support and making a decision on what level, if any, of spousal support is necessary. 

In light of this proposal, AirTalk sits down with a trio of family law experts to talk about the current state of alimony law in California, also known as spousal support. Join the conversation at 866-893-5722.

Guests:

Atousa Saei, Santa Monica-based family law specialist and attorney at Law Offices of Atousa Saei

Zephyr Hill, managing attorney at Goldberg Jones, a San Diego-based family law firm that focuses its representation of husbands’ and fathers’ rights

Scott Altman, professor of law at USC where his expertise includes family law