Spousal Support / Maintenance in New York
Our Attorneys Serve Long Island, the City of New York, & Westchester County
If spousal support may be an issue in your divorce, it will prove helpful
to speak with a divorce lawyer from our firm. Spousal support commonly
referred to in New York as maintenance and also known as alimony, can
be awarded to the party who has a lower earning capacity. In no way is
spousal support ever determined by the spouse's gender. In many circumstances,
one individual will be the primary financial provider during the course
of the marriage and may be required to maintain that role during the divorce
proceedings and after the divorce has been finalized. Individuals involved
in a high net worth case may especially require the assistance of our
lawyers to ensure that spousal support issues are handled appropriately
and fairly.
Factors Used to Determine Spousal Support/Maintenance Orders
On September 25, 2015, the Governor signed into law the current maintenance
guidelines applicable to temporary and post-judgment maintenance awards
by which maintenance can be calculated pursuant to a statutory formula
that is based on the parties’ respective incomes. The courts have
the authority to deviate from the statutory formula if it is found that
application of the formula would yield an unjust or inappropriate result.
The courts also have the authority to award additional maintenance beyond
what the statutory formula would yield if the circumstances require it.
The attorneys at Jeffrey S. Schecter & Associates, P.C. are well versed
in the applicable maintenance guidelines, the manner in which the courts
have applied the statute since it was signed into law and how best to
advocate for their clients as concerns the maintenance guidelines based
on their respective circumstances.
Whatever the circumstances of your family, the purpose of spousal support
is to ensure that neither party is left struggling financially. When determining
awards of maintenance the Court can consider various factors that may
require deviation from the statutory formula to ensure a just and fair
result. Those factors include, but are not limited to:
- Each party's ability to maintain the previous standard of living;
- Each party's health, age and mental capacity;
- The presence of children in the marriage;
- Whether a party sacrificed career opportunities during the course of the marriage;
- Needs of each party determined by their standard of living;
- Ways in which one party contributed to the other's education or career.
If you have been asked to pay spousal support to your spouse or if you
require spousal support from your spouse, our attorneys will be by your
side throughout the entire process to aggressively protect your rights.