In many divorces spouses require and are entitled to support, which, in New York, is called maintenance. Courts have wide discretion in setting maintenance. Determining a client’s right to, or obligation to pay, maintenance, as well as its duration and amount, often involves many considerations, such as the parties’ incomes (and uncovering hidden income), their assets, tax consequences, lifestyle analysis, property division and vocational capacities. Whether our client is a stay-at-home parent or a highly compensated executive, Pat will analyze all relevant factors to advocate powerfully for an optimal maintenance outcome.
In New York, there is no such thing as ‘alimony.’ Rather, payments made to an ex-spouse are called spousal maintenance. Not all cases involve a payment of support or maintenance from one spouse to another, however.
In those cases in which support or maintenance will be awarded, the court looks at a number of factors, including the length of the marriage and the health of each spouse, the ability of each spouse to earn money or to become self- supporting in the future and contributions of each spouse to the other’s career or reductions in the ability to earn a wage due to the loss of opportunities as a result of the marriage, among others.
