California Family Code § 3600 – Temporary Support During Proceedings

Overview of Family Code § 3600

California Family Code § 3600 allows courts to order temporary (pendente lite) support while a divorce, legal separation, or child custody case is pending. It permits the court to require one spouse to pay any amount needed to support the other spouse, or for either or both parents to pay any amount needed to support a minor child:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}. The goal of these orders is to preserve the parties’ living standards and ensure the supported party can litigate the case without resolving final issues. Courts describe such pendente lite support as a means to preserve the parties’ standard of living:contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.

Practical Examples

  • Temporary Child Support in Divorce: Maria and John have two children and recently separated. Maria cares for the children and has low income, while John has a higher salary. Maria files for divorce and asks for temporary child support under Section 3600. The court reviews both parents’ incomes and the children’s needs and orders John to pay a guideline-based support amount each month to Maria while the divorce is pending. This ensures the children’s basic needs (housing, food, medical care, etc.) are met from the start of the case.
  • Temporary Spousal Support during Separation: Alex loses his job after filing for divorce. He requests temporary spousal support (pendente lite alimony) under Section 3600 so he can pay bills and maintain his standard of living. The judge may grant Alex a monthly support award based on Pat’s (the other spouse’s) ability to pay and Alex’s demonstrated need. This award helps Alex live and participate fully in the divorce proceedings and is not a final decision on permanent support.
  • Support during a Custody Case: In a custody proceeding, a mother has primary custody of a 10-year-old child and the father has visitation. The court may use Section 3600 to order temporary child support, for example requiring the father to pay his share of the child’s expenses while the custody case is pending. The amount is typically set under California’s child support guidelines based on each parent’s income and the custody schedule, ensuring the child’s needs are covered until the case is resolved.

Case Law Examples

  • In re Marriage of Askmo (Cal. Ct. App. 2000) – The court upheld a pendente lite spousal support order under Section 3600 even though the supported spouse had defaulted in the divorce action. The Court of Appeal held that because the divorce case was still pending, the trial court properly exercised jurisdiction to award support:contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}.
  • In re Marriage of Dick (Cal. Ct. App. 1993) – A husband appealed a temporary support order that had been made retroactive to the date the wife filed her separation petition. The appellate court noted that Section 3600 (then Civil Code 4357) contained no express limit on retroactivity, and upheld the trial court’s decision to make support retroactive to the filing date:contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}.
  • Last v. Superior Court (Cal. Ct. App. 2023) – The wife sought temporary spousal support despite a premarital agreement waiving support. The trial court granted support under §3600, and the Court of Appeal affirmed. It held that without the required findings to validate the waiver (under Fam. Code §1615(c)), the waiver was unenforceable, so §3600 empowered the court to award pendente lite support:contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}.

Full Text of California Family Code § 3600

3600. During the pendency of any proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties or under Division 8 (commencing with Section 3000) (custody of children) or in any proceeding where there is at issue the support of a minor child or a child for whom support is authorized under Section 3901 or 3910, the court may order:

(a) either spouse to pay any amount that is necessary for the support of the other spouse, consistent with the requirements of subdivisions (i) and (m) of Section 4320 and Section 4325; or

(b) either or both parents to pay any amount necessary for the support of the child, as the case may be.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 82, Sec. 35. (SB 1306) Effective January 1, 2015.)

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