Debra Stanley v. Robert Stanley

LAW & MOTION TENTATIVE RULINGS DEPARTMENT 5 April 30, 2026 8:30 AM/1:30 PM

9. DEBRA STANLEY V. ROBERT STANLEY PFL20210202

On Marh 18, 2026, Respondent filed a Request for Order seeking visitation and spousal support orders. He filed his Income and Expense Declaration on March 17th. Both documents were served on Petitioner on March 17th however Respondent did not serve the requisite blank FL-320 or the Notice of Tentative Ruling. The Department of Child Support Services (DCSS) was not served.

Petitioner has not filed a Responsive Declaration to Request for Order.

Respondent requests a modification of the parenting time orders with a summer vacation schedule, holiday schedule and soccer season schedule. He further asks the court to terminate spousal support.

The parties attended Child Custody Recommending Counseling (CCRC) on March 5, 2026 and were unable to reach any agreements. A report with recommendations was prepared and mailed to the parties on April 17, 2026.

Given that both parties attended and participated in CCRC, and given that Respondent is not making a child support request, the court does find good cause to proceed with the matter on its merits despite the defect in service.

After reviewing the filings as outlined above the court does find the recommendations contained in the April 17, 2026 CCRC report to be in the best interests of the minors. They are hereby adopted as the orders of the court.

Regarding the request to terminate spousal support, the court maintains broad discretion in determining whether a support award is warranted and if so, the amount and duration thereof. In re Marriage of McLain, 7 Cal. App. 5th 262, 269 (2017). While the factors listed in Family Code section 4320 may be considered by the court, an award for temporary support is generally unrestricted by any statutory authority. See Marriage of Tong & Samson, 197 Cal. App. 4th 23, 29 (2011). That said, Section 4320 does include consideration of the duration of the marriage and an award of support for a “reasonable time” for the supported party to become self-supporting.

Here, the marriage was less than three years in duration and support was originally ordered in April of 2021, approximately five years ago. Given that at this point support has been ongoing almost twice as long as the marriage itself, the court does find that Petitioner has had a sufficiently reasonable amount of time to become self-supporting. Accordingly, the request to terminate spousal support is granted.