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Jane Lynch's Soon-to-Be Ex Wants $1.1M in Spousal Support

By Betty Wang, JD on September 10, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Jane Lynch's soon-to-be-ex-wife, Lara Embry, wants $93,809 in spousal support from her -- per month, reports E! News. On top of this, Embry's lawyer threw in $100,000 for representation and an additional $45,000 in accountant's fees. These demands total up to more than a million a year.

According to court documents obtained by E!, Embry's filing does not mention mortgage, home maintenance, or utilities, but she did list monthly expenses that included:

  • entertainment,
  • gifts,
  • vacation,
  • clothes,
  • dining out,
  • education,
  • charitable contributions, and
  • childcare.
The Glee star and her almost-ex-spouse did not have any children together, but Embry, a therapist, does have an 11-year-old daughter.

How does spousal support work? Also, what about their assets?

Spousal Support

When a couple gets divorced, the court can award spousal support, or alimony, to a former spouse. Alimony is either based on an agreement between the couple themselves, or by a decision from the court. The purpose of spousal support is to ensure fairness and to help remedy any unfair economic effects of a divorce.

While the factors may vary by states, courts will generally look at the following factors in determining alimony payments:

  • Age, health condition, emotional state, financial condition of the former spouses
  • The couple's standard of living during the marriage
  • The length of the marriage
  • The alimony payer's ability to support both the recipient and herself

Alimony is paid for as long as necessary, in order to properly rehabilitate the other spouse. This time period may either be specified in the divorce degree, or the court may order otherwise.

California is a Community Property State

It is also important to note that California is a community property state -- and its marital property laws equally apply to domestic partnerships, like Lynch's and Embry's, as it does to marriages.

Under the Golden State's marital property laws, division of property generally requires first that all the assets be categorized as either community (marital) property or separate property. Most property acquired during a marriage and before legal separation is considered community property, while property acquired for each individual spouse before and after is typically considered separate property.

All community property is split up 50/50, while separate property would be allocated accordingly to each respective spouse.

To learn more about community property division and spousal support, check out FindLaw's Guide to Divorce and Property Division and FindLaw's Guide to Spousal Support.

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