- 23 -
California legislature created the concept of family support.
See Hilton v. McNitt, 315 P.2d 1, 3 (Cal. 1957); see also 1951
Cal. Stat. ch. 1700, sec. 7. Prior to 1951, the then-existing
statutory predecessor of Family Code section 4337, former
California Civil Code section 139, was phrased in terms of the
husband’s obligation to support the wife. Taliaferro v.
Taliaferro, 270 P.2d 1036, 1039 (Cal. Dist. Ct. App. 1954); see
Cal. Civ. Code sec. 139, as amended by 1933 Cal. Stat. ch. 412,
sec. 1.20 The broadening of the statutory language in 1951
simply rendered the obligation of spousal support gender-neutral.
See Franklin Life Ins. Co. v. Kitchens, 57 Cal. Rptr. 652, 657
(Ct. App. 1967); Newhall v. Newhall, 321 P.2d 818, 822 (Cal.
Dist. Ct. App. 1958).
c. Other Family Code Provisions
Notwithstanding the foregoing, other provisions of the
Family Code display the intention of the California legislature
that family support qualify as deductible alimony under Federal
income tax law. See, e.g., Cal. Fam. Code sec. 4066 (West 2004)
(orders complying with the statewide uniform guideline for child
support may be phrased in terms of family support “as long as the
amount is adjusted to reflect the effect of additional
20 Former Cal. Civ. Code sec. 139 is the immediate statutory
predecessor of former Cal. Civ. Code sec. 4801(b), which is the
immediate statutory predecessor of Family Code sec. 4337.
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