Spousal Support &
Maintenance in New York

New York spousal maintenance is calculated under Domestic Relations Law Section 236B(6), which establishes a two-step formula process. Step 1 — the guideline maintenance formula: New York uses two formulas and applies the lower result as the guideline amount. Formula One: 30% of the paying spouse's income minus 20% of the receiving spouse's income. Formula Two: 40% of the combined spousal income minus the receiving spouse's income. The lower of the two results is the guideline maintenance amount. The guideline formula applies only to combined income up to the statutory cap, which is currently $203,000 per year. For income above the cap, the court has discretion to award additional maintenance based on the statutory factors. Step 2 — duration: The guideline duration of maintenance is based on the length of the marriage. For marriages of 0-15 years, the guideline duration is 15%-30% of the length of the marriage. For marriages of 15-20 years, the guideline duration is 30%-40% of the marriage length. For marriages of 20 or more years, the guideline duration is 35%-50% of the marriage length, or the court may award permanent maintenance. Step 3 — adjustment for statutory factors: Even when guideline amounts apply, the court must consider 17 statutory factors and may deviate from the guideline amount if the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate. These factors include: the age and health of both parties; the present and future earning capacity of both parties; the standard of living established during the marriage; the duration of the marriage; and contributions as a spouse, parent, wage earner, and homemaker. Morgan Legal Group calculates guideline maintenance amounts, analyzes deviation factors, and advocates for maintenance outcomes that reflect the full circumstances of each client's marriage throughout all five NYC boroughs.

Pendente lite maintenance — literally 'while the lawsuit is pending' — is temporary spousal support awarded by the court to provide financial support to a lower-earning spouse during the pendency of the divorce action. New York Domestic Relations Law Section 236B(5-a) establishes a specific guideline formula for pendente lite (temporary) maintenance that applies during the divorce proceedings, separate from the post-divorce maintenance formula. The pendente lite maintenance formula uses the same two-formula approach as the post-divorce formula, but applies only to the first $203,000 of the paying spouse's annual income. Above this income level, the court has discretion to award additional pendente lite support. To obtain pendente lite maintenance, the requesting spouse files an Order to Show Cause with the court setting forth their income, expenses, and financial needs. The court typically resolves pendente lite applications relatively quickly — often within a few months — because leaving the lower-earning spouse without financial support during a lengthy divorce would be unfair. Pendente lite maintenance is designed to maintain the marital standard of living during the divorce proceedings and to give both parties roughly equal financial footing to litigate the divorce. Once the final divorce judgment is entered, pendente lite maintenance is replaced by the post-divorce maintenance award determined in the judgment of divorce. The amount of pendente lite maintenance does not determine the amount of post-divorce maintenance — courts treat them as separate issues. However, the arguments developed in pendente lite proceedings lay the foundation for the post-divorce maintenance analysis. Morgan Legal Group applies for and defends pendente lite maintenance applications in New York divorce proceedings throughout all five NYC boroughs.

Yes — spousal maintenance awards in New York can be modified after the divorce judgment is entered, but only under specific circumstances and through a formal court application. Under Domestic Relations Law Section 236B(9)(b), a court may modify a maintenance award upon a showing of changed circumstances. The standard for modification varies depending on whether the maintenance is set forth in a separation agreement or stipulation that was incorporated into the divorce judgment, or whether it was determined by the court after litigation. For judicially determined maintenance, modification is available upon a showing of substantial change in circumstances that was not foreseeable at the time the original order was entered. For contractual maintenance set in a separation agreement, the standard for modification depends on the specific language of the agreement. The most common changed circumstances that justify maintenance modification include: a significant change in the income or earning capacity of either spouse; the remarriage of the recipient spouse (which automatically terminates maintenance under DRL Section 248); the cohabitation of the recipient spouse with a new partner in a 'spousal type' relationship, which may justify reduction or termination of maintenance; the disability or serious illness of either spouse; the completion or abandonment of educational or vocational training that was the basis for rehabilitative maintenance; and the retirement of the paying spouse at normal retirement age. Morgan Legal Group handles maintenance modification applications and defenses in New York divorce proceedings throughout all five NYC boroughs.

The tax treatment of spousal maintenance underwent a fundamental change under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, effective for divorce agreements and judgments executed after December 31, 2018. Under prior law, maintenance payments were deductible by the paying spouse and includible in the gross income of the receiving spouse for federal income tax purposes. This tax asymmetry created a significant negotiating tool: because the paying spouse (typically in a higher tax bracket) received a deduction and the receiving spouse (typically in a lower bracket) paid tax on the maintenance, the after-tax cost of maintenance to the payor was lower than the gross amount, creating room for tax-efficient negotiations. Under the TCJA rules effective for post-December 31, 2018 agreements and judgments, maintenance is no longer deductible by the paying spouse and no longer includible in the income of the receiving spouse. This change has significant implications for divorce negotiations: Maintenance payments are now made with after-tax dollars — the paying spouse receives no tax benefit from making maintenance payments, which effectively increases their after-tax cost. The receiving spouse receives maintenance tax-free — there is no tax cost to the recipient, which means a lower gross maintenance amount can provide the same after-tax benefit as a higher gross amount under the prior law. This changes the calculus for negotiating maintenance versus property division settlements — in some cases, structuring a settlement with less maintenance and more property division may produce a better after-tax outcome for both parties. New York State income tax treatment follows the federal treatment for post-2018 agreements. Morgan Legal Group incorporates detailed tax analysis into maintenance negotiations for all clients throughout all five NYC boroughs.