Suffolk, Nassau & Queens County Divorce Lawyer
Spousal Support and Maintenance in New York
The last thing that you want to experience after your divorce is finalized is to face financial hardship.
My firm has extensive experience in helping families throughout Suffolk, Nassau and Queens Counties with spousal support issues. My firm is familiar with the factors that the Court’s take into consideration when determining whether to award spousal support, the amount and duration.
As a divorce attorney, my clients often ask whether they may be entitled to spousal support (maintenance). The financially independent spouse 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
Durational vs. Nondurational Maintenance
When maintenance is awarded to a spouse, this payment covers the dependant spouse’s daily needs which include shelter, food, clothing and medical expenses. Maintenance (Spousal Support) is referred to as “durational” or “nondurational.” Durational support is maintenance which 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. Nondurational support will last until death or remarriage of the dependant spouse.
I also accept cases involving modifications of a maintenance/spousal support order, on behalf of clients wishing to alter or change the current terms of their spousal support.
Contact my office to discuss whether you may be entitled to spousal support Toll Free at 1 (800) 914-8651.
Contact Long Island divorce attorney Jay D. Raxenberg today! |
