New York has a formula for calculating temporary maintenance paid during a divorce proceeding. Although the formula is adequate for most cases, since it is based solely on income sometimes it generates unrealistic numbers that are unfair to one spouse or another. Even if Easysoft Legal Software’s NY family law software spits out a support value, family law attorneys have the option of petitioning for a different amount but they need the facts to back up their assertions. They can do this by considering the same factors the court will consider when determining long term spousal maintenance.
Future Earning Capacity – If one spouse is going to see a significant increase or decrease in earnings, try calculating the support using that number instead of current income reported on the New York net worth statement. Yes you can apply for support modification after the income change, but it might be better to get the more realistic support value up front.
Wasteful Dissipation – Property is not considered in support calculations and yet if one spouse wastefully dissipates joint accounts or other assets, this might warrant greater support payments. As a corollary, some spouses wastefully dissipate their income by finding ways to reduce hours work, cut client lists or increase business ownership expenses. A spouse who is willfully misrepresenting income levels might find a judge isn’t fooled by these tricks, and might be surprised to find support payments are increased to cover the wasted income.
Need For Training – It’s common for one spouse to give up educational opportunities to care for children, and therefore also common for maintenance to be increased to cover that spouse’s need to train up to a better job. If the spouse has the option of starting training now rather than waiting until after the divorce is final, then it would be appropriate for the other spouse to start paying the extra expenses immediately.
Care Of Loved Ones – Child support takes care of childcare expense, but many people are also caring for others such as elderly parents or children from other marriages. This can inhibit the possibility of future income so warrants a boost in the standard support calculated by New York divorce software.
These are of course just a few of the twenty factors listed under New York law. Don’t be locked into the numbers generated by software. Easysoft Legal Software law practice management software is meant to supplement an attorney’s professional expertise, not replace it.
