The New Spousal Maintenance Guidelines in New York

Long Island New York Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Governor Andrew Cuomo recently signed Bill A7645/S5678, legislation passed by the New York legislature last summer to revamp spousal maintenance in New York. The initiative to establish new guidelines came when New York adopted no-fault divorce in 2010 (the last state in the country to legalize no-fault divorce). The legislature put temporary guidelines in place then, but promised to extensively review the statute and make permanent changes.

Here are the key provisions of the new law:

• Moving forward, spousal maintenance or alimony will be calculated using a formula. Under prior guidelines, the court determined it on a discretionary basis

• For purposes of employing the formula, income will be capped at $175,000, down from $524,000 under the prior guidelines

• The guidelines allow for a reduction of spousal maintenance payments for payors who are already paying child support

• Under the new provisions, the courts have some discretion to deviate from the guidelines, based on what judges determine to be unjust or inappropriate

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