Maintenance law refers to alimony or spousal support and has been awaiting revisions in New York for quite some time now. The revisions have recently passed in the State Senate and Assembly by wide margins and the governor is expected to sign them into law soon. The changes coming into play include revised amendments in order to create a new formula for determining the temporary maintenance awarded to the spouse with less money while the divorce is pending. The new amendment will also base maintenance awarded in the final judgment of divorce on the new formula as well.
The formula used in determining maintenance in the final judgment of divorce is something new from the law that exists now. Without a formula, both parties in the divorce are left to wonder the amount of maintenance that will be awarded as determined by the court and various qualitative factors. It is up to the court to decide the amount of maintenance based on subjective factors and there is usually disagreement on how to apply those factors.
With the use of a formula, there is less pressure on the court to decide the amount and duration of the maintenance and will allow for cases to be settled much easier. People will know what to expect at the trial and will be able to settle the case more easily with the formula in place. The formula under the new law will also benefit the spouse with more money as it has a much lower cap on the amount of income that will be used. The spouse with more money will have to pay lower maintenance awards in the case that they are the non-custodial parent or if there are no children.
With this new formula, hopefully, cases will be able to be settled more easily and both parties will be satisfied with the outcome.
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