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Whipple Mercado Law

Spousal Support

Spousal Support

Attentive Advocacy For Your Spousal Support Goals

The decision to divorce is typically followed by a number of teachable moments. The need to be educated about the laws governing spousal support is one of them.

Spousal support, also known as alimony, is usually awarded to a spouse who cannot support herself or himself after a marriage or domestic partnership has ended.

There are two types of spousal support: temporary spousal support, which is paid while the dissolution is pending in court, and permanent or long-term spousal support, which is paid after the dissolution is final. Temporary spousal support is determined by the use of a computer program that is based largely on the incomes of the parties and certain other financial items and tax consequences. The amount of permanent or long-term support depends upon several factors: duration of the marriage, standard of living during the marriage, the age and health of each party, the assets and obligations of each party, and many other factors that the court must take into consideration when making an award of permanent spousal support.

If you are divorcing and unclear as to how appropriate levels of spousal support are determined, get the facts you need from the experienced family law attorneys at Whipple, Mercado & Associates, LLP, in San Ramon.

Our skilled divorce lawyers will protect your rights in spousal support matters throughout the legal process. We also provide the guidance necessary when post-divorce circumstances change and spousal support obligations need to be modified.

Have circumstances changed to warrant a modification of spousal support? Did the payer or payee get remarried or divorced again? Lose or get a new job? All of these constitute a change of circumstances to modify spousal support.

Does your judgment or marital settlement agreement leave spousal support open for an unspecified period of time? Can spousal support be terminated after you enter into a judgment or marital settlement agreement? Get the answers you need and more from our experienced attorneys at Whipple, Mercado & Associates, LLP.

Our versatile law firm excels at pursuing modifications and court-ordered enforcements that compel parties to comply with those obligations.

Contact Us — We Work Hard To Make Your Divorce Issues Easier To Deal With

Your free initial consultation with Whipple, Mercado & Associates, LLP, is as close as your phone or email. Call today, locally or toll free.

Tammy J. Mercado

Tammy J. Mercado has a passion for helping her clients achieve their desired results. She listens and she personally and promptly responds to your texts, emails and phone calls. She offers real solutions to your legal matters. Tammy will carefully evaluate the legal issues in your case, provide you with sound advice and offer you the pros and cons of each possible scenario so you can meet your legal objectives. She encourages clients to participate in their own matters. Tammy believes that client participation is key to a positive result and to keeping attorney fees as low as possible. You can be sure that she will offer you straightforward, sound and honest advice in a professional manner, with integrity and excellence.

Before opening her own law practice, Tammy worked for many high-volume law firms. This gave her extensive, diversified experience in hundreds of complex family law cases as well as civil matters. She is admitted to practice law before all courts in California and the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Contra Costa Bar Association, the Alameda County Bar Association and the Bar Association of San Francisco. Tammy is also a member of the Rotary Club of Danville.

Tammy is a graduate of John F. Kennedy School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix. Tammy is also a licensed real estate broker, which comes in handy for valuing property in family law cases as well as real estate matters in the civil arena.

During her off time, Tammy is an avid sailor who crews and races on various boats in the San Francisco Bay. Tammy approaches each case as she would any yacht race: by assessing the other’s strengths, weaknesses, experience, equipment, history and reputation. She is a member of the American Sailing Association, and she is a certified Coast Guard Auxiliary member.

HONORS AND AWARDS
Tammy was selected to receive the prestigious “Business Person of the Year” Award in 2017 for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce.

Tammy is currently serving as Danville Rotary President for 2017 through 2019.

Mary C. Whipple, CFLS

Mary C. Whipple opened her first law practice in the summer of 2008. She previously was an associate attorney at the Law Office of Cummins & Holmes, a full-service civil litigation law firm in San Ramon. The majority of her experience is in family law, which includes divorce, custody, support, prenuptial agreements and domestic-violence restraining orders. Certified by the California State Bar’s Board of Legal Specialization, she is a specialist in the area of family law. Mary has also represented clients in a variety of non-family-law cases, including juvenile dependency, probate, breach of contract and employment disputes, to name a few.

Mary also previously worked as a contract attorney for O’Melveny & Meyers in San Francisco while simultaneously volunteering at the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program, representing defendants in unlawful detainer actions. The program acknowledged Mary with an Outstanding Volunteer in Public Service Award in 2006 for her efforts in providing access to justice.

A seventh-generation Californian, Mary is a graduate of Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She earned her Bachelor of Science in criminology at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon. She is a member of the State Bar of California, the Alameda County Bar Association, and the Contra Costa County Bar Association.

In addition, Mary is active in her community as a member of the Ambassador’s Committee for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce; a volunteer at the Contra Costa County and Alameda County Superior Courts, where she assists self-represented litigants in completing their divorces; and a member of Divorce Angel, where she provides information regarding family law matters to members of the community. Since 2007 she has been a volunteer judge for Alameda and Contra Costa County’s Annual High School Moot Court Competition. She is also a member of the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary Club. She was awarded the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Person of the Year; and a graduate of the 2012 class of Leadership San Ramon Valley.

CERTIFIED LEGAL SPECIALTIES
Certified Specialist in Family Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization