Get Divorced in New York Now. Wait and It Will Cost $110K a Year
A New York law, which takes effect in January, will cut spousal support more than $9000 a month. The change places a cap on salary to be considered during the computation of spousal maintenance from $540,000 to $175,000. A non-breadwinner married to someone who earns over half-a-million could be awarded almost $14,000 a month.
A recent article in The New York Post has people scrambling to get their divorce ducks in a row before the price of falling out of love skyrockets.
New York Alimony Calculator
The courts in New York consider many factors when deciding alimony. The state legislature has written statutory formulas to help in calculating temporary alimony.
Formula 1: Subtract 20% of the supported spouse’s income from 30% of the paying spouse’s income.
Formula 2: Multiply total income of both by 40% and then subtract the supported spouse’s income from the amount
Formula 3: Choose a temporary award from the lower of either #1 or #2.
The lesser results are always used for estimated, temporary alimony.
When deciding if spousal support is appropriate, the judge looks at individual needs as well, including:
- Length of the marriage
- Spouse’s age and health
- Spouse’s present and future earning potential.
- Equitable distribution of marital property
- Supplemental income that one party has made as a homemaker so as to improve the other spouse’s earning ability
Temporary alimony orders end when a final judgment is reached. Either spouse may ask the judge to modify the permanent order because of a meaningful change in conditions, such as the spouse obtaining support gets a paying better job.
New York state provides an online guideline calculator for temporary spousal support. The calculator looks at each income and does not consider any of the factors listed earlier.
Alimony
Alimony also called spousal maintenance, is a juridical responsibility of a person to provided continued financial support to their spouse before and after marital separation and divorce. Traditionally, alimony was paid by a husband to his wife. Since the seventies, many Western countries have moved towards gender equality with the recognition that a former husband may also be entitled to receive alimony.
There are four types of alimony:
- Temporary: Support ordered when the parties are separated before the divorce.
- Rehabilitative: Allowance provided to the lower-earning mate for a limited period. Typically provided during the time, it takes for the party to become self-sufficient
- Permanent: Allowance provided to the lower-earning spouse until the demise of the payor.
- Reimbursement: Support given as compensation for costs incurred by a spouse — such as instructional costs
While New York is raising the stakes on divorce, other states such as Florida and Texas, are moving away from permanent alimony awards. At the same time, some states such as Mississippi and Tennessee provide for lifetime alimony.
As with any legal matter, it is best to seek the advice of a qualified divorce attorney. With the pending changes in New York alimony law, the need to speak to an experienced divorce lawyer have grown exponentially.