Spousal Support
In divorce cases, one party may be entitled to spousal support (maintenance). The financially independent spouse usually wants to know how to protect his or her future earnings, and the dependant spouse (often a stay-at-home parent) wants to know how to help ensure that he or she will be able to maintain their pre-separation standard of living.
Every divorce or legal separation is unique, and will need to be evaluated individually to determine what strategic options are available for spousal support. Spousal support, which is called maintenance in New York, is discretionary and is meant to provide financial assistance to the dependant spouse to enable him or her to become self-supporting. The amount and duration of maintenance is determined by various factors:
- The length of the marriage
- The age of the parties
- Health and education of the parties
- Pre-separation standard of living
- Significant disparity in income between the spouses
- Whether a spouse sacrificed their career to be a homemaker and full-time parent (lost earning capacity)
- The expense necessary to educate a spouse who has been out of the workforce in order to become self-supporting
Maintenance is usually "durational", which means it is set to last for a fixed period of time, usually to give the dependant spouse a chance to become financially independent. This typically occurs when the dependant spouse obtains an educational degree or gainful employment. In some situations, "nondurational support" may be awarded, which will last until death or remarriage of the dependant spouse. |