- 21 -
3. Family Support Under California Law
a. Statutory Overview
The California Family Code (Family Code) defines “family
support” as “an agreement between the parents, or an order or
judgment, that combines child support and spousal support without
designating the amount to be paid for child support and the
amount to be paid for spousal support.” Cal. Fam. Code sec. 92
(West 2004). As discussed supra pp. 11-12, the term entered the
statutory lexicon in 1981 as the result of an attempt by the
California legislature to reconcile principles of California
child support law with Federal income tax law regarding the
deductibility of payments to an ex-spouse. While portions of the
Family Code are devoted exclusively to the well-established
components of family support, see Cal. Fam. Code secs. 3900–4253,
4300–4360 (West 2004) (child support and spousal support,
respectively), the Family Code contains no comprehensive set of
rules relating to the newfangled amalgam. In particular, the
Family Code does not specifically address the effect of the
payee’s death on a family support obligation.
b. Family Code Section 4337
Petitioner argues that Family Code section 4337, which
generally operates to terminate spousal support upon the death of
the payee spouse, is broad enough to include family support.18
18 In Wells v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1998-2, we
(continued...)
Page: Previous 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011