New York City Child Support Lawyer
Under New York law, what used to be called "alimony" (and is still referred to by that term in the Internal Revenue Code) is called "spousal maintenance." There are two types, temporary spousal maintenance, which is supposed to enable the needy spouse to subsist until the trial, and permanent spousal maintenance, which could be denied, might serve only to "rehabilitate" the non-moneyed spouse, or might last until remarriage or the death of either spouse. That depends on the pre-separation standard of living, the spouse's ability to be self supporting, and the length of the marriage.
Temporary Spousal Maintenance
For divorce cases commenced prior to October 2010, one of the most important steps that a non-moneyed spouse can take is to seek a generous spousal support order to level the playing field, to help maintain the marital standard of living and to enable you to have your day in court. In the course of a year until your case is ready for trial, you could get starved out unless a good and diligent lawyer goes to court to obtain a spousal support award for you. The paying spouse needs to make sure that a reasonable amount of money is ordered to be paid temporarily; otherwise there will never be an inducement to finish the case. I will also negotiate for permanent spousal maintenance during the divorce process.
For divorce cases commenced after October 12, 2010, New York has revamped its law on the subject of temporary spousal maintenance. This occurred at the same time that the court liberalized the law to allow no-fault divorce for all new divorce cases. Roundly criticized by virtually all of the legal commentators, as either sloppy or poorly drafted, it is not expected to be on the books for very many years.
The new "temporary" spousal maintenance law contains a three-part formula that requires the court to award temporary spousal maintenance without a showing of need:
Subtract the 20 percent of the payee's income from 30 percent of the first $500,000 of the payor's income.
Add the payee's income to the first $500,000 of the payor's income. Multiply that sum by four. Then subtract the payee's income from that product.
The lesser of the result of step 1 and step 2 is the amount of "temporary spousal maintenance."
Permanent Spousal Maintenance
For all New York divorce cases commenced after June 19, 1980 there are 12 statutory factors for the court to consider in deciding to whether to award permanent spousal maintenance, how much to award, and for how long to award permanent spousal maintenance:
- The income and property of the respective parties including marital property distributed by the divorce court
- The duration of the marriage and 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 and, if applicable, the period of time and training necessary therefore
- Reduced or lost lifetime earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance as a result of having foregone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities during the marriage
- The presence of children of the marriage in the respective homes of the parties
- The tax consequences to each party
- Contributions and services of the party seeking maintenance as a spouse, parent, wage earner and homemaker, and to the career or career potential of the other party
- The wasteful dissipation of assets by either spouse
- Any transfer or encumbrance made in contemplation of the divorce action without fair consideration
- The loss of health insurance benefits upon the divorce
- Any other fact that is just and proper
Contact a Nassau County Child Support Payment for a Free Consultations
I am ready to answer your questions or discuss your concerns about spousal maintenance in your divorce. Either call my New York office or contact me online for a free initial consultation.
