Spousal maintenance, sometimes referred to as maintenance or spousal support, is a monetary award paid by one spouse to the other to help a spouse meet his or her reasonable financial needs. Spousal support is not used to make the spouses equal. Permanent maintenance is rehabilitative, a tool to get people back on their feet. The goal of temporary maintenance is to prevent the less well-off part from falling into poverty during litigation.
Will maintenance be part of your divorce? Call our Buffalo spousal support lawyer Keith B. Schulefand at 716-568-4453 or toll free at 888-499-1552.
Temporary Spousal Support
At the same time the New York legislature passed the no-fault divorce law, it also passed a law that provides for temporary spousal support. The new law provides for temporary maintenance to a qualifying spouse while the divorce is pending. The new law creates a formula to determine the amount of support. The amount that results from the formula is presumed correct unless the payor can prove it is unfair and unjust.
The new laws also created a presumption that the lower income spouse is entitled to payment of divorce attorneys' legal fees.
Permanent Spousal Support
For the time being, permanent spousal support is still governed by the factors set out in section 256 of New York's domestic relations law. When a court is considering awarding a spouse permanent maintenance it is required to weigh factors, such as:
- Income and property of the parties
- Duration of the marriage
- Age and health of both parties
- Present and future earning capacity of both parties
- Ability of the party seeking maintenance to become self-supporting
Judges have a lot of discretion in awarding maintenance. The rule of thumb is that permanent maintenance will last one-third to one-half the length of the marriage - the longer the marriage, the longer the maintenance.
Amherst Spousal Maintenance Lawyer
For more information on spousal maintenance or to schedule an appointment with an experienced divorce lawyer, please contact us.
