Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues Issue Search
| Volume | 20 |
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| Year | 2012 |
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| Title | Use of Vocational Experts in Determining Alimony Award |
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| Author(s) | Ngan Tran |
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| First Page | 237 |
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| Abstract | Until the early 1980s, California divorce judges and lawyers often felt invited to perform the employability assessment without expert assistance. “Judges,” however, “cannot be expected to possess the expertise or conduct the necessary research to determine the employability” of a party requesting alimony. In 1982, at the instigation of the California State Bar’s Family Law Section, the Family Law Act was amended to authorize the divorce court, on motion of a spouse, to require the other spouse to submit to examination by a qualified vocational expert to determine the spouse’s employability and earning capacity. The statute was significantly amended in 1991.8 The terms of the statute—now Family Code § 43319—have remained constant since the 1991 amendment. |
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