Alimony and spousal support – referred to as “maintenance” in New York – is becoming a contentious and much-debated topic as other states increasingly adopt reforms to the laws that govern this aspect of divorce, putting pressure on New York to do likewise. Anyone who has gone through the process of determining alimony and spousal support East Islip NY would more than likely cheer on any effort to reform and fix this aspect of the divorce process.
The Current Status
Currently, alimony and spousal support East Islip NY and elsewhere in the state is determined by a list of factors the judge in the case must consider in light of the facts of the specific situation. On the one hand this allows the judge to tailor the support order, which is often helpful. On the other hand, this results in an unpredictable and often random-seeming series of support orders.
Suggested Reforms
There is a movement in New York to revise and reform the way alimony and spousal support East Islip NY is calculated. The proposed changes include
- Using a fixed formula to calculate both temporary and permanent support
- Elimination of enhanced earning capacity which increased support when a spouse attained certifications or degrees
- Limiting maintenance to the length of the marriage itself.
While these reforms seem perfectly sane on the surface, there are some caveats to consider. Primary among the potential downsides is the fact that a formulaic approach would be inflexible, potentially resulting in an increase in maintenance orders perceived to be unfair or impractical, because judges would no longer be able to routinely apply reason and circumstantial considerations to their orders, but would instead be locked into a fixed computational system that ignored all such considerations.
