Manhattan Alimony and Maintenance Lawyers

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Factors Considered in Alimony Payments During a Divorce

In situations where a couple seeks a divorce, numerous factors suddenly come into play. One of these is alimony, also called spousal maintenance. While many people assume these payments are calculated based on standard guidelines, as is the case with child support, in fact the opposite is true. In New York, there are no statutory guidelines regarding a court deciding how much alimony one spouse may be ordered to pay their ex-spouse. Because of this, it’s critical to hire an experienced Manhattan alimony and maintenance lawyer to guide you through this complex process. Whether you are seeking to be paid as much alimony as possible, or instead are a spouse trying to protect your income, here are some important details regarding various aspects of spousal maintenance.

What is the Purpose of Spousal Maintenance?

When a divorce occurs, it’s likely one or perhaps both spouses may have a drastic change regarding income. Thus, the purpose of spousal maintenance is to ensure both parties are able to continue living the lifestyle to which they had become accustomed, or at least one that is as close as possible. In most cases, the court’s goal is to make sure the spouse who will be receiving alimony will not suffer a great financial hardship due to the divorce. According to the court, granting spousal support allows that person the opportunity to acquire skills and training required to be self-sufficient.

Can Spousal Maintenance Not be Ordered?

While it doesn’t happen very often, there are divorce cases where the court will determine spousal maintenance is not necessary. In these situations, this is usually due to both parties being very well-off financially, and thus have the ability to adequately support themselves. However, if you are entering into a divorce case, don’t count on this happening. Unless the financial circumstances are very unusual, chances are the court will order that alimony be paid.

Temporary vs. Permanent Alimony

When entering into a divorce, most couples are unaware of the possibility the court could order either temporary or permanent alimony be paid to a spouse. In the case of temporary alimony, this is usually paid until an ex-spouse reaches a certain goal, such as finishing college and obtaining a specific type of job, or until the person remarries. However, with permanent alimony, the court may order this be paid if the marriage had been very long-term, and one spouse had provided most if not all financial support during the marriage. Due to the many complexities involved in these two types of alimony, always rely on a skilled Manhattan alimony and maintenance lawyer to guide you through the process.

Determining Factors Regarding Alimony

When deciding whether or not to order alimony be paid, courts will look at a number of factors. These may include the length of the marriage, incomes of each person, the ability of one spouse to realistically become self-sufficient, if children will be residing with the lower-income spouse, and many other factors. For example, if the lower-income spouse will have children living with them, the court may feel as if alimony should be paid, in addition to child support payments. In other situations, the earning potential of one spouse may play a significant role in the court’s decision. This often involves if one spouse will soon be finishing medical school or law school, and is expected to see their earning potential increase substantially. In these cases, the court may order alimony payments based upon what the spouse will be earning in the future, rather than their current income.

Hire the Best Attorney

Since there are a variety of factors that go into determining whether alimony will be paid, how long it will be paid, payment amounts, and other important details, it’s crucial you hire the best possible attorney to represent you during your divorce. Whether you are the higher-income or lower-income spouse, don’t hesitate to contact an experienced and knowledgeable Manhattan alimony and maintenance lawyer for a free consultation. By doing so, you will not only ensure your legal rights are protected each step of the way during your divorce case, but also gain peace of mind, knowing you will have a lawyer who will work hard for you.

A divorce is the legal end to a marriage. During a divorce, many issues arise such as property division and child custody. Another important divorce issue is spousal support. Spousal support, also called maintenance or alimony, is the monthly payment an ex-spouse sends to their former spouse. Whether a spouse in Manhattan receives supposal support is outlined in New York’s Domestic Relation’s Law 236.

Types of Supposal Support in Manhattan

A spouse can receive temporary or permanent supposal support. Temporary supposal support is ordered during the divorce proceedings. It ends when the divorce proceedings end. Permanent spousal support is awarded after the divorce proceedings end. A person must pay their ex-spouse monthly payments until the ex-spouse dies or remarries.

How is Supposal Support Award in Manhattan?

Supposal support is awarded based several factors outlined in DRL 236. The amount of money must be fair to both parties according to:

• The standard of living the spouses had during their marriage
• Whether one spouse does not have enough assets, income and property to provide for their ex-spouse’s reasonable needs. This means one spouse cannot afford to pay spousal support.
• Whether the other spouse has enough income, assets and property to provide for the ex-spouse’s reasonable needs. This refers to the other spouse having enough money to afford spousal support.

The Factors involved in Calculating Spousal Support in Manhattan

Not every spouse will receive spousal support. Also, not every spouse award spousal support will receive the same amount. A judge calculates supposal support depending on about 20 factors. These factors include the length or the marriage, property and income, age of the spouses and:

• Any current and future earning capacity of both parties
• if a spouse needs additional education or training expenses to become independent. Sometimes spousal support can be awarded on a limited basis. It is typically the amount of time it takes for the spouse to obtain the needed skills to return to the workforce.
• Equitable distribution of property
• Any exceptional additional expenses related to things like children, medical treatment or daycare
• Tax consequences to each spouse
• The time the couple lived together before marriage or after the separation. A judge may view the length of marriage differently based on if the spouses lived together before marriage or after they decided to get a divorce.
• The ability of the spouse without enough income to become self-supported
• Any actions that inhibited or continues to stop a spouse’s earning capacity or obtain meaningful employment such as domestic violence
• Where the children born into the marriage currently reside. If the children will live with the spouse receive supposal support, they may be restricted to staying in Manhattan when they can find work elsewhere.
• The need to care for any other family members other than child. A spouse taking care of a disabled family member may have their earning capacity severely decreased.
• Any loss of health insurance because of the divorce

A judge can also consider any other factors they consider relevant to the supposal support case.

Contact a Manhattan Spousal Support Attorney for Help with Your Case

Obtaining spousal support is a difficult task because there are so many factors a judge can consider. For instance, marital fault such as domestic violence or cheating may come into play when determining spousal support.

Whether you need spousal support or are fighting a motion for spousal support, you need legal representation. We are your tough legal team. Contact us immediately to begin discussing your case. We will explain spousal support factors in detail and how we will proceed with your case.