Governor Patterson Passes a No-Fault Divorce Package

Online, August 23, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Along with no-fault divorce and an award of counsel fees to the non-monied spouse, Governor Patterson also signed into law this week a formula to determine temporary maintenance- also known as spousal support. The formula is meant to ensure that the spouse with less money is able to financially survive during the divorce. The Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence has already created an online calculator to show the amount of temporary maintenance given the incomes of the two parties: http://www.legalresourcenetwork.org/calculator/calculator.html.

Like the rest of New York's divorce law, the temporary maintenance formula is gender neutral. Whichever spouse has the greater income pays the maintenance, regardless of whether the high earner is the husband or wife.

But in practice, the husband usually holds most of the financial cards in a divorce. "Especially in abusive relationships, the wife is often at a severe economic disadvantage because the husband has seized control of the finances and arranged things in a manner favorable to him in the divorce" said Lois Schwaeber, Director of Legal Services at the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
"For an abused wife who has no access to any of the family money, who sometimes isn't even allowed to keep her own paycheck, and who can't afford to retain a lawyer, divorce has seemed like an impossibility."

The temporary maintenance formula, along with a new law requiring the wealthier spouse to pay the other side's attorney's fees, is meant to balance the economic power during the divorce. The formula sets the annual temporary maintenance as the lower of two numbers: 1.) 40% of the combined income of the parties minus 100% of the poorer party's income; or 2.) 30% of the wealthier party's income minus 20% of the poorer party's income.
Those with extremely low incomes near the poverty level are not required to pay temporary maintenance. Those with extremely large incomes are only required to pay on the first $500,000 of their income, although the judge has discretion to order greater maintenance. To see how the formula works for different incomes, you can visit: http://www.legalresourcenetwork.org/calculator/calculator.html

Many observers believe that the temporary maintenance law does not go far enough to protect women. "Temporary maintenance during the divorce is a good start, but the maintenance after the divorce determines the quality of life women and their children will have as they move forward in their new lives," said Schwaeber.

The new legislation did add new factors for judges to consider in awarding post-divorce maintenance, including domestic violence, but did not require judges to apply the temporary maintenance formula to post-divorce maintenance. "Right now, the post-divorce maintenance standards are highly subjective and often lead to inadequate awards," said Schwaeber. "We hope the Legislature will pass a post-divorce maintenance formula to truly protect women."

The temporary maintenance formula, along with no fault divorce and the award of counsel fees to the non-monied spouse, takes effect in October.