Alimony, sometimes called spousal support, is the payment by one spouse to their former spouse of funds during or after a divorce. The funds are intended to be used to support the spouse’s former lifestyle as it was before the divorce took place. Alimony laws vary from state to state, and some are considered to be biased towards requiring the husband to pay spousal support to his wife. However, many states have switched to gender neutral alimony laws where whichever spouse makes more money can be required to make alimony payments to the other spouse, regardless of gender. Alimony in New York state is considered to be a gender neutral alimony with several specific requirements in place.
Requirements for Alimony in New York State
Alimony in New York is intended primarily as a way to make sure that, because of the hardship of divorce and the loss of the income from a second party in the household, one spouse does not find that his lifestyle or standard of living is so drastically changed that it becomes distressed. For example, if you were married and paying $1000 per month for a mortgage with two incomes, you might find that you could no longer make that payment on one income. Alimony in New York allows for the other spouse to pay you money in order to make sure that you can continue to pay your mortgage and live in your home after the divorce.
Alimony in New York is also considered to be sort of like a child support payment to the formerly married spouse. It is provided in order to make sure that this individual can take care of all of his or her basic needs, because he or she may have sacrificed a career or other options in order to take care of things in the marriage. For example, a woman who stayed at home to raise the children she had with her spouse, may not have career skills or the ability to find a job right away, and will need to have money to make sure that she can afford basic essentials until such time as she can get a job.
Basis for Calculating Alimony
Alimony in New York is based on:
- The amount of money that each spouse makes, as well as
- Their ability to find a job if they are not currently making any money.
- Alimony decisions can be affected by the actions of one spouse which resulted in a fault divorce – such as adultery or cruel and inhumane treatment by one party.
- The fault behind the divorce can be taken into account when the court decides whether or not to award alimony or for how long.
Get Legal Help
If you are considering divorce, you need to consult with an experienced divorce attorney. Your attorney can explain to you how alimony will work and can help you to draft a fair agreement that results in you receiving the alimony payments you need to continue to live in the lifestyle you have been living.
