USING DISSOMASTER TO CALCULATE ALIMONY (SPOUSAL SUPPORT) IN CALIFORNIA - VIDEO #33 (2021)

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Third video in seven part series explaining alimony (spousal support) laws in California. This video explains how to run the DissoMaster program to calculate the amount of alimony.

Almost all courts in California use the DissoMaster program to calculate short term alimony.

When you use a support calculation program, such as DissoMaster, there are lots of lines for entering data. The data entry lines appear on the left-hand side of the computer screen. There are over 30 data entry lines on the left-hand side of the screen.

The DissoMaster program will calculate just child support, just spousal support, or both child support and spousal support.

The DissoMaster program will work for just spousal support. If you don’t have children, and don’t enter any data about children or custodial time share percentages, the program will simply calculate the spousal support number.

When you run the DissoMaster program, look down the data entry lines on the left-hand side of the page, and I then enter data for you and your spouse.

Fill out all the data entry lines that apply to your situation. For example, if you have children, you are going to indicate how many children you have by your marriage, state the custodial time share percentage, indicate your income tax filing status, state the amount of each party’s salary or wages, etc. If you don’t have children, just skip the data entry lines that pertain to children.

You are going to leave most of the data entry lines blank because you are probably going to find that most of the data entry lines do not apply to your situation. If you don’t have income from self-employment, leave that line blank. If you don’t have non-taxable income, leave that line blank. If you don’t have a new spouse, leave that line blank.

After you enter the data, you push “enter” on your keyboard and the program will give you the temporary spousal support number. The spousal support number will appear in the middle of the computer screen.

Each line on which you enter data will impact the spousal support number. Although all data entries impact the calculation, there are a few entries that have the largest overall impact. The amount of income each person has is the most important factor in determining how much spousal support is owed. Although all of the entries are important, some of the more important data entries include how much each party pays for health insurance; how much each party contributes to their 401(k) account; do they have other children from other marriages or relationships living with them; and what is their income tax filing status.

Some of the entries impact the amount of support in a way that seems counter-intuitive. For example, if the husband has a huge mortgage payment, you would think he will get a break and pay less spousal support. However, the fact is that the big mortgage payment will cause him to pay a higher amount of spousal support. The support program sees the interest portion of the mortgage payment as a tax deduction and concludes that the husband has more after-tax income and therefore can afford to pay a higher amount of support. The same thing is true for 401(k) contributions.