Where and when to ask
New York uses the term maintenance rather than alimony. A spouse can ask for temporary maintenance while a divorce is pending, usually by motion, and for post-divorce maintenance as part of the final judgment or settlement. Spouses who are not divorcing can also petition Family Court for spousal support. The request belongs in the divorce papers or in a timely motion; raising it for the first time after the judgment is generally much harder, and a settlement that waives maintenance is usually difficult to undo. When you file for alimony early in the case, you may get help covering bills while the divorce runs.
The numbers a court looks at
New York has a guideline formula based on both spouses' incomes up to a cap, with a separate advisory schedule for how long post-divorce maintenance lasts based on the length of the marriage. Courts can depart from the guideline amount after weighing factors set out in the law, and the cap is adjusted periodically, so current figures should be checked. Both spouses typically file a sworn statement of net worth with recent tax returns and pay records. Irregular income, self-employment income, or a spouse who appears to be earning less than they could all lead to disputes about which number to use. A household budget showing your real expenses helps explain why support is needed.
Planning the request with us
When we first meet, we look at both incomes, how long the marriage lasted, and whether a temporary support motion should be filed right away. We discuss how maintenance interacts with child support, since in New York maintenance is calculated first and then changes the incomes used for the child support figure. We also consider counsel fees, because New York starts from a presumption that the less-monied spouse may receive help paying for a lawyer. Bring pay stubs, tax returns, and whatever information you have about your spouse's earnings, even if it is incomplete. If you are worried about access to money before the case starts, raise that at the outset so interim options can be weighed.
