New York Alimony Attorneys

Spousal Support Lawyers for Alimony and Spousal Maintenance, Alimony Laws, Child Support and More

Recently passed legislation sets forth guidelines for judges to use when determining interim maintenance, meaning only for the period in which the divorce case is pending.  The Law Revision Commission will review the legislation at a later point in order to determine whether or not the guidelines should be utilized for maintenance beyond the action.  However, it is likely that in practice the use of the guidelines for interim maintenance will set a standard for how the maintenance award will be determined in a case’s final divorce agreement. 

The guidelines create a formula for judges to use when determining a temporary maintenance award in an effort to produce greater consistency. Divorcing parties or their attorneys may also use the guidelines to calculate what their post-divorce maintenance should be.  This could help determine the amount of a party’s claims as well as facilitate settlement. 

How the guidelines work:

A formula is used to arrive at an amount to be paid by the higher earning spouse, whether this spouse is the husband or the wife. In practice, approximately 30%-40% of the couple’s combined income will go to the lower earning spouse and 60%-70% of the couple’s combined income will go to the higher earning spouse.  With respect to the higher earning spouse’s income above $500,000, any additional maintenance will be based on a number of factors, including the length of the marriage, the differences in incomes of the parties, the standard of living established during the marriage and the earning capacity of the parties.  The divorcing parties may present reasons for deviating from the guidelines and judges have the discretion to adjust the amount of the award to reach a fair result. 

The amount and duration of post-divorce maintenance is determined by a number of factors, such as the duration of the marriage; the age and health of both parties; the present and future earning capacity of both parties, the ability of the party seeking maintenance to become self-supporting; reduced or loss of life-time earning capacity as a result of having foregone or delayed education, employment, or career opportunities, among other things. The courts also consider the lifestyle of the family during the marriage and non-monetary contributions made to the marriage by the spouse seeking maintenance.

There is a strong policy interest on the part of courts for spouses to become financially independent. However, courts often do not recognize what it will take for a previously "dependent" spouse to achieve real financial independence. The need for additional education and/or the fact that the spouse may not have work experience outside of the home are two mitigating factors that must be considered in determining both the amount and the duration of any maintenance decree.

Sherri Donovan is a Divorce Lawyer in New York. Our main offerings include: a Child Support Attorney and Child Custody Attorney for children's rights and Divorce Lawyers for Contested and Uncontested Divorces.

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