Divorce and Alimony

Divorce is difficult and the process costly. Often a judge will order for one party to pay the other alimony. Alimony is used to limit the negative economic effects divorce can cause by compensating a non-working or low-income spouse.

Of course, there are regulations guiding alimony. The New York Courts' version of alimony is called maintenance or spousal support. In New York, alimony is calculated by a formula. For your own purposes, alimony can be roughly estimated by subtracting 20% of the supported spouse's income from 30% of the paying spouse's income. There are also websites where you can plug in both parties income and it will calculate the alimony amount.

Another important term to know is "Pendente Lite". Pendente Lite is money paid as temporary maintenance while the divorce is in process. A judge will order "Pendente Lite" to be paid when one spouse needs immediate financial assistance. Pendente Lite orders end once the judge has made a final decision about alimony.

Either party can request the judge to review the maintenance agreement at a later date if their financial situations change.

Additionally, you should know that alimony should be reported as income by the receiving spouse.