Temporary Support Orders
Getting divorced can take up to a year or more. "Temporary Support Orders" define what financial support you will give or receive during the divorce process.
Getting a divorce can take between a few months and a year or more. It can be important to have a "Court Order," or an official direction from the Court, to lay out what will happen during that time.
Types of temporary support
Think through these issues when deciding whether to file for temporary support.
- Child support. If you have children, you can file a request for money to pay for their needs.
- Spousal support. You can also file a request that your spouse help pay for basic living expenses.
- Payment of expenses and debts. You can file for temporary support with a request for how debts and bills should be split in the short term.
How to ask for a Temporary Support Order
The forms you need to fill out to ask for a Temporary Support Order are part of this site's Divorce Form Assistants. See Filing for Divorce with Children or Filing for Divorce without Children for those forms.
If you think your spouse might disagree with your Temporary Support Orders, it can be very helpful to get a lawyer.
You can also find information about Temporary Support Orders in Local Rule 23.
The Court will need proof of income for both of you in order to issue a Temporary Support Order.
It's important that all your filing information, including the financial forms, are complete and accurate. They may be used to make decisions on your Temporary Support Order.
After your forms are filed, your spouse will get 14 days to either agree or disagree with your request for temporary support. If your spouse doesn't respond in that time, the Court may issue the Temporary Support Order that it approves without a hearing. If your spouse requests a different Temporary Support Order, the Court will schedule a hearing to help make a decision about the temporary support. This hearing is usually held about 4 to 6 weeks after you file the paperwork. You must attend the hearing to finalize the Temporary Support Order.
The Temporary Support Order is in place for as long as it takes to complete the divorce process. When you are officially divorced, the Judge’s Final Orders will take the place of the Temporary Support Order.
Note: Temporary Support Orders are different from Temporary Restraining Orders. If you need to request a Temporary Restraining Order (because of abuse, harassment or other reasons), go to Local Rule 24 for more information.