What Does New York's New Maintenance Statute Mean for Mediation?

{3:12 minutes to read} In the summer of 2015, the New York legislature passed a statute providing for post-divorce maintenance. The statute was then signed by the governor and is effective for all matters filed in Court after January 23, 2016.

The statute provides a formula for computing maintenance based upon the respective incomes of the parties with a cap of $175,000 for the income of the person paying support. For a person paying support with income over $175,000, the Court may at its discretion, award support based upon consideration of some 15 factors.

The statute also provides the court with an advisory schedule, based upon the length of the marriage, for determining the length of maintenance.

Even though it was not yet “the law,” I have been talking about the statue with my clients since it was enacted in June, 2015 because I believed it is information they should have.

However, I have always stressed and will continue to stress to clients that using detailed and complete budgets is the best way to determine appropriate support for them. And it is as vital to look at the budget of the person who is paying support, as it is the budget of the person who is receiving support.

While the drafters of the new statute worked diligently to devise a statute that would provide consistency in awards across the state and work for as many residents of the state as possible, it is a formula that may or may not work for your family. Mediation gives a couple who is separating the opportunity to consider whether or not a formula is appropriate for them based upon factors such as

• Their particular housing costs, food costs and liabilities;
• The existence of extraordinary expenses;
• The ability to amend provisions if the person receiving support is likely to be earning more in the future, or reduce the support if the person paying is likely to have an involuntary reduction of income;
• The ability to build into your agreement “what happens if” for a special concern about the future.