When should you ask for child support or spousal support?
In terms of the divorce process, if you are inclined to ask for support or if you need it, you have to do it as soon as possible and ideally around the same time as the initial filing. Because of one the factor in family code 4320 is need, if you do not ask for spousal support for a very long time – let us say your divorce takes two years and you don’t ask for support – the court is not likely to find that you need it when you request it later. Therefore, whether you are the husband or wife, if you need the money, ask for it right away. Checking off the box in your petition or response is not enough, all it accomplishes is to notify the Court that it is a decision it needs to make at some point. You have to formally file a request for spousal support. Most of the time, the person needing the money is the one filing the request. I have never seen somebody who may be responsible for paying spousal support be the one to file a request to have the Court issue an order. It is “almost always” the responsibility of the person who needs the support to submit a request as close to the beginning of the divorce as possible.
Sanjay Sabarwal's Blog 