How is Spousal Support Calculated in New York? | Mosberg Sharma Stambleck Gross LLP

A court may order spousal support paid during a separation, or after a divorce, based on the presence of certain factors. A spouse may need financial support during the divorce while they are in the process of transitioning to their new situation. They may also need support after the divorce is final, either temporarily or permanently.

Spousal support (also known as maintenance or alimony) is often an issue in divorces, especially high-net-worth divorces. New York law aims to reduce uncertainty and provide some uniformity in how spousal support is calculated.

New York Courts Begin with a Statutory Formula to Determine Spousal Support

To ease the uncertainty in many situations where spousal support is at issue, New York judges use a straightforward formula to calculate spousal support. The exact formula depends on whether there are minor children involved and child support is being paid by the person from whom spousal support is sought. The result of the calculation, which is presently subject to a combined income cap of $203,000, is the presumptively proper amount of spousal support to be awarded. Application of the formula, and situations where the presumptive amount of support may be rebutted, are discussed below.

How Spousal Support Is Calculated Under the Formula When There Are No Minor Children

If there are no minor children, a court would run two calculations and use the lower of the two amounts as the total yearly spousal support obligation:

The first calculation subtracts 20% of the lower-earning spouse’s net income from 30% of the higher-earning spouse’s net income.
If, for example, the lower-earning spouse makes $80,000 and the higher-earning spouse makes $200,000, the annual support obligation would be $44,000 (30% of $200,000 – 20% of $80,000 = $44,000).
The second calculation combines the income of the two spouses, takes 40% of it, and then subtracts the lower-earning spouse’s income from the reduced total.
Here, you would multiply $280,000 by 0.4 and then subtract $80,000, which equals $32,000.

Because the second calculation is the lower of the two amounts, it would be the annual spousal support obligation. The monthly obligation would be $2,666.67.

How Spousal Support Is Calculated Under the Formula When There Are Minor Children

The presence of minor children makes the calculation somewhat different because it assumes that one spouse will also be paying child support. This calculation will change the percentages.

The first calculation takes 25% of the lower-earning spouse’s income and subtracts it from 20% of the higher-earning spouse’s income.
Using the above example, you would subtract $20,000 from $40,000, which equals $20,000.
The second calculation is the same as the second calculation when there are no minor children involved: combine the two incomes, take 40% of the total, and then subtract the lower-earning spouse’s income from the reduced total.
Using the above example, the result is, again, $32,000.

Here, the lower amount is $20,000, which becomes the yearly spousal support obligation. The monthly support obligation would be $1,666.67.

As noted above, New York currently caps the payor’s income that the alimony calculation considers at $203,000. The state will raise this amount from time to time based on inflation. However, as we discuss below, a court has the discretion to consider an amount above this limit, which will result in higher alimony payments.

New York’s Support Formula Is Only About the Numbers

Spousal support in New York is based largely on a disparity in income between the two spouses. While other states consider a variety of factors to determine whether spousal support is warranted, the application of New York’s maintenance guidelines, in the first instance, is a straightforward mathematical calculation. Based on the way that the formulas work, you can expect some amount of alimony when one spouse makes less than two-thirds of what the other spouse makes.

New York also has a formula that governs how long spousal support will last based on the duration of the marriage. Typically, for couples married less than 15 years, payments will likely last between 15% and 30% of the marriage’s length. For couples married between 15 and 20 years, payments will likely last between 30% and 40% of the marriage’s length. And, for those couples married longer than 20 years, the payments will likely last between 35% and 50% of the marriage’s length. The durational percentages are advisory and courts have discretion to deviate from the above ranges based upon the facts and circumstances of the particular case.

New York’s alimony formulas are similar to its child support guidelines in that the courts have the ability to deviate from the presumptive amount if the result would be unjust or inappropriate. If a spouse can make that showing, the judge can order support that is higher or lower than what results from a guidelines calculation.

In High-Net-Worth Divorces, However, New York Courts Rely on Statutory Factors, Not Formulas

As we noted above, New York currently caps the payor’s income that the spousal support calculation considers at $203,000.

When considering the spousal support obligations of people who make more than $203,000 in income, especially high-net-worth individuals, judges will consider the factors listed in New York Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(5-a) for support obligations while the divorce is pending, and the factors in New York Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(6) for support obligations after the divorce is finalized.

Those factors include:

The age and health of the parties;
The present or future earning capacity of the parties, including a history of limited participation in the workforce;
The need of one party to incur education or training expenses;
Whether there was a termination of a child support award when the spousal support obligation was based on child support being awarded which resulted in an obligation lower than it would have been had child support not been awarded;
The wasteful dissipation of marital property, including transfers or encumbrances made in contemplation of a matrimonial action without fair consideration;
The existence and duration of a pre-marital joint household or a pre-divorce separate household;
Acts by one party against another that have inhibited or continue to inhibit a party’s earning capacity or ability to obtain meaningful employment, including acts of domestic violence;
The availability and cost of medical insurance for the parties;
The care of children or stepchildren, disabled adult children or stepchildren, elderly parents, or in-laws provided during the marriage that inhibits a party’s earning capacity;
The tax consequences to each party;
The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;
The reduced or lost earning capacity of the payee as a result of having forgone or delayed education, training, employment or career opportunities during the marriage; and
Any other factor which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper.

For support obligations after a divorce is finalized, courts will also consider these additional two factors:

The equitable distribution of marital property and the income or imputed income on the assets distributed; and
The contributions and services of the payee as a spouse, parent, wage earner, and homemaker, and to the career or career potential of the other party.

At Mosberg Sharma Stambleck Gross, we know how to leverage our experience to find creative solutions to our clients’ difficult divorce issues, including advising our clients with respect to issues involving spousal support—both for those who are seeking support and those who may be obligated to pay it.

Call us today at 212-678-8500 to learn more about how we may be able to help you with your family or matrimonial law issues.