Spousal support disputes do not always center on what each spouse currently earns. In some California divorces, an important issue is what a spouse is realistically capable of earning based on education, employment history, skills, health, and the available job market.

When spousal support is at issue, California law allows a party to request a vocational examination of the other spouse. The evaluation can provide evidence concerning employability and earning capacity rather than relying solely on assumptions about what someone “should” be able to earn.

The Evaluation Looks at Realistic Employment Opportunities

A vocational examination must include an assessment of the person’s ability to obtain employment based on several factors, including:

• age and health;
• education;
• marketable skills;
• employment history; and
• current employment opportunities.

The focus is on the person’s ability to obtain employment that would allow that person to maintain themselves at the marital standard of living.

This can make vocational evidence particularly valuable when the spouses strongly disagree about earning capacity.

For example, one spouse may argue that the other could return to a previous profession and earn substantially more. The other spouse may contend that years outside the workforce, changes in the industry, health limitations, outdated skills, or the need for additional training make that income unrealistic.

A vocational professional can examine those issues using employment-related evidence.

Marketable Skills Are Part of the Spousal Support Analysis

When ordering spousal support, California courts consider the extent to which each party’s earning capacity is sufficient to maintain the marital standard of living.

For the supported spouse, that analysis includes marketable skills, the job market for those skills, the time and expense required to obtain appropriate education or training, and whether retraining may be necessary to develop more marketable skills.

A vocational evaluation can therefore provide more than a projected salary.

It may help identify realistic occupations, employment opportunities, training requirements, and limitations affecting the spouse’s ability to return to work or increase earnings.

Employment Efforts Can Also Become Relevant

When employability is disputed, evidence of the spouse’s actual job-search efforts can become important.

Relevant information may include applications, contacts with potential employers, networking activities, current résumés, and other documentation showing efforts to obtain employment. This information may also be pursued through discovery methods such as special interrogatories or a deposition.

The objective is to compare theoretical earning capacity with what the spouse is realistically capable of accomplishing in the current employment market.

Vocational Evidence Can Clarify a Disputed Financial Issue

A vocational evaluation does not automatically determine the amount of California spousal support.

Instead, it provides evidence that can help the court evaluate earning capacity as part of the broader support analysis.

When one spouse believes the other is capable of becoming more self-supporting—or when a spouse believes unrealistic income is being attributed to them—a vocational evaluation can provide a more evidence-based assessment of employment opportunities, skills, training needs, and earning potential.