Remember Dweezil Zappa? The former MTV VJ and rock guitarist dated a few famous girls in the ’80s and ’90s (Molly Ringwald, Lisa Loeb) but ultimately married fashion stylist Lauren Knudsen in September, 2005. Knudsen filed for divorce earlier this month, after just four and half years of marriage.

Citing irreconcilable differences (the only grounds for a no-fault divorce in California), Knudsen filed the paperwork in L.A. County Superior Court. She seeks joint legal custody of their daughters: Zola Frank, 4, and Ceylon Indira, almost 2.

Knudsen is seeking primary physical custody with visitation to be granted to Zappa. She also requests an award of spousal support.

Knudsen will, if she is awarded physical custody of the children (even joint physical custody), receive a child support award. An award of spousal support is less black-and-white.

There are three things for a court to decide with regard to spousal support: (1) whether or not to award it; (2) how much support to award and (3) the duration of the award. In California, the legislature has outlined specific factors for a court to consider when making those decisions. The court must consider:

• Whether each party can maintain the standard of living established during the marriage, taking into account all of the following:
  • The marketable skills of the party seeking support; the job market for those skills; the time and expenses required for the supported party to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop those skills; and the possible need for retraining or education to acquire other, more marketable skills or employment.
  • The extent to which that party’s earning capacity is impaired by periods of unemployment that were incurred during the marriage while that party attended to domestic duties (e.g., stay-at-home parenting, etc.).
• The extent to which the party seeking support contributed to the attainment of an education or career by the other party.
• The ability of the supporting party to pay spousal support.
• The needs of each party based on the standard of living established during the marriage.
• The obligations and assets, including the separate property, of each party.
• The duration of the marriage.
• The ability of the party seeking support to be employed without impairing needs of children in his or her custody.
• The age and health of the parties.
• Any history of domestic violence.
• Any tax consequences to each party.
• The balance of the hardships to each party.
• The goal that the party seeking support be self-supporting within a reasonable period of time. (Except in the case of a long-term marriage.)
• Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.

My guess is that Zappa will have to pay some spousal support to allow Knudsen to continue to maintain a lifestyle close to that enjoyed while the couple was married so that the children can have that stability. The length of the support is questionable due to the short-term nature of their marriage.

Library Topics: divorce, types of custody, California family law, no-fault divorce, child support, spousal support