Spousal Support and the New Guidelines

{2:30 minutes to read} Before New York adopted spousal support guidelines in 2016, the amount and duration of spousal support was very unpredictable. Some awards were very generous while others were very conservative, based upon the discretion of the judge.

With the adoption of the guidelines, there is now much more predictability as to the amount and duration of spousal support. However, what seems to have been left out of the discussion is a determination as to whether spousal support is appropriate at all.

In fact, the statute itself requires a court to determine if the guideline obligation “is unjust or inappropriate” based on 15 factors that a court is supposed to take into consideration when deciding if the guidelines should be followed.

For example, if a spouse put their career on hold or took a position with less responsibility in order to be home with the children, or gave up a career to relocate with their spouse, they would certainly be entitled to spousal support.

But what if one spouse earned less than the other simply because of his or her career choice or ability? Should that spouse be entitled to spousal support simply because he/she makes less money? In the past, the answer would probably have been “no” since spousal support was usually only awarded to a spouse who demonstrated that he or she suffered a financial loss as a result of sacrifices he or she made for the marriage.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the new guidelines have been applied in any situation where one spouse earns more than the other without first determining if spousal support should be awarded at all.

While guidelines can certainly be useful in creating some uniformity in the amount being awarded, they should not be used without first considering if the payee is earning less simply because they elected to pursue a career that paid less than their spouse’s career.

Instead, the guidelines should only be used once a determination has been made that one spouse suffered financially as a result of a sacrifice he/she made for the benefit of the marriage.