Last updated 2026-07-09
TL;DR
New York calls alimony "maintenance." Courts use a statutory formula under Domestic Relations Law §236B to calculate temporary support during the case, and advisory guidelines for post-divorce maintenance. The formula, duration caps, and 16 factors judges weigh are all codified. Amounts vary by income gap and marriage length, but the math is knowable before you ever set foot in a courtroom.
What is alimony called in New York, and what law governs it?
New York doesn't use the word "alimony." The statute calls it "maintenance," and the governing law is New York Domestic Relations Law §236B [1]. That's more than a label swap. The word signals a shift in thinking: New York treats support as a temporary economic bridge, not a lifetime entitlement.
There are two types. "Temporary maintenance" (also called pendente lite support) runs while the divorce case is pending. "Post-divorce maintenance" starts after the judgment is signed. The formulas differ slightly, and so does the process for getting each one.
A third category shows up in settlements: "contractual maintenance" agreed to in a separation agreement or stipulation. Courts generally enforce those agreements as written, so what you negotiate is usually what you get.
If you want the wider national picture of how maintenance works as a concept, the alimony overview explains how different states approach it.
How does the New York maintenance formula actually work?
New York adopted a numeric formula for temporary maintenance in 2010 and updated the post-divorce guidelines in 2015 [2]. The 2015 law wrote income caps and advisory duration tables straight into the statute. That makes New York one of the more formula-driven states in the country.
Here's the mechanical version of the post-divorce maintenance formula. The payor is the higher-earning spouse; the payee is the lower-earning spouse.
| Step | Formula | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| Step 1 | 0.30 × payor's income minus 0.20 × payee's income | Subtraction figure A |
| Step 2 | 0.40 × combined income minus payee's income | Subtraction figure B |
| Guideline amount | Lower of A or B | Annual maintenance |
One hard cap: the formula only applies to the payor's income up to $203,000 per year, and that ceiling adjusts every two years by the Consumer Price Index [2]. Above that threshold, the court uses discretion.
A quick example. Payor earns $120,000; payee earns $30,000.
- Step 1: (0.30 × 120,000) minus (0.20 × 30,000) = 36,000 minus 6,000 = $30,000
- Step 2: (0.40 × 150,000) minus 30,000 = 60,000 minus 30,000 = $30,000
- Guideline amount: $30,000 per year, or $2,500 per month.
That's the starting point, not the ending point. Judges can move off it based on 16 statutory factors (more on those below). But in an uncontested divorce where both spouses agree on a number, you can set whatever amount you both choose, and the court will usually sign off as long as it isn't wildly unconscionable.
Want to run the numbers yourself? Search "alimony calculator NY" and you'll find tools built off this exact formula. The New York State court system also publishes a maintenance worksheet in the UD forms packet that walks through the same math step by step [3].
How long does maintenance last in New York?
Duration tracks the length of the marriage. The 2015 statute set advisory percentage ranges rather than hard caps, but judges treat these ranges as the default [2].
| Marriage length | Advisory duration (% of marriage length) |
|---|---|
| 0 to 15 years | 15% to 30% |
| 15 to 20 years | 30% to 40% |
| More than 20 years | 35% to 50% |
So a 10-year marriage lands in a guideline range of 1.5 to 3 years of maintenance. A 25-year marriage runs 8.75 to 12.5 years. These are advisory, not mandatory. A judge can go above or below based on the circumstances.
Maintenance ends automatically at a handful of trigger events: the payee remarries, either party dies, or the court-ordered end date arrives [1]. Cohabitation with a new partner can be grounds for modification or termination, but it doesn't end payments the way remarriage does. You'd have to go back to court.
Permanent maintenance, meaning support with no end date, still exists but is genuinely rare. Courts reserve it for marriages of very long duration where the payee has essentially no realistic path to self-sufficiency, often because of age or disability.
What 16 factors does a New York judge weigh?
The formula gives you the default number. The 16 statutory factors give the judge permission to move away from it. DRL §236B(6) lists them explicitly [1].
1. Age and health of both parties 2. Present or future earning capacity of each party 3. Need of a parent to be present in the home for children 4. Distribution of marital property 5. Duration of the marriage 6. Existence of a pre-marital joint household or pre-divorce separate household 7. Acts by a party that inhibited the other party's earning capacity 8. Ability of each party to become self-supporting and the time needed to get there 9. Reduced or lost lifetime earning capacity from giving up or delaying education, training, employment, or career opportunities during the marriage 10. Property brought to the marriage 11. Contributions made to the career or career potential of the other party 12. Standard of living during the marriage 13. Tax consequences to each party 14. Equitable distribution of property 15. Whether either party transferred assets for inadequate consideration 16. Any other factor the court expressly finds just and proper
Factor 9 (career sacrifice) and factor 3 (staying home with children) tend to carry real weight in long marriages where one spouse left the workforce. Factor 2 (earning capacity, more than current earnings) matters a lot when a spouse is voluntarily underemployed.
In an uncontested case, nobody is asking a judge to weigh these factors, because you've already agreed. But the factors still help you negotiate. If your spouse pushes back on your proposed maintenance number, knowing that "reduced earning capacity from career sacrifice" is codified in the statute gives you a real argument.
How is temporary maintenance calculated while the divorce is pending?
Temporary maintenance uses the same two-step structure as post-divorce maintenance, but with different multipliers. Under DRL §236B, the temporary formula uses 0.25 of payor's income minus 0.20 of payee's income (Step 1) and 0.40 of combined income minus payee's income (Step 2), again taking the lower of the two [2].
The income cap that applied before the last adjustment was $192,000. It's now $203,000 and will move again in the next two-year cycle.
Temporary orders matter more than people expect. A contested New York divorce can take a year or more from filing to judgment, and the temporary support order governs that entire waiting period. In an uncontested divorce where both spouses agree, you can skip the formal temp order motion and just fold a maintenance agreement into your settlement paperwork.
Can you waive maintenance or agree to a custom amount in New York?
Yes. Maintenance is negotiable in New York, and most uncontested divorces settle it by written agreement. A properly executed stipulation of settlement or separation agreement sets the amount, duration, and termination events, and the court incorporates that agreement into the divorce decree [1].
You can waive maintenance entirely if you both want to. Courts will scrutinize a waiver when the income gap is extreme or when the lower-earning spouse appears to have signed under duress, but for most uncontested cases an arm's-length waiver holds up.
A few things make an agreement harder to attack later. Both parties should have a real chance to review it (independent counsel isn't required, but it's a smart move when the disparity is large). The agreement should be in writing and acknowledged before a notary. And the waiver should be explicit, not implied.
If you're preparing your own paperwork, the settlement agreement is where the maintenance terms live. DivorceClear's $149 document packet includes a settlement agreement template that covers maintenance, property, and debt in one place, so you're not chasing separate forms for each issue.
One thing you can't do: strip a court of its power to modify maintenance if circumstances change dramatically. New York courts keep modification jurisdiction by statute. You can limit modification rights contractually in some ways, but you can't sign away the court's inherent authority entirely.
How does New York tax maintenance payments?
This changed nationally in 2019. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, for any divorce or separation agreement executed after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are no longer deductible by the payor and no longer count as income for the payee [4].
For agreements signed before January 1, 2019, the old rules still apply: deductible for the payor, taxable income for the payee. If you modify a pre-2019 agreement after 2018, the new tax rules apply to the modified version unless the modification specifically says they don't.
This shift changed the negotiating math. Under the old rules, a payor in a high bracket could afford to pay more because the deduction made it cheaper after tax. That arbitrage is gone for new agreements. The net cost to the payor and the net benefit to the payee are now dollar for dollar.
IRS Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals, is the federal source that spells this out [4].
What happens when circumstances change: can you modify or terminate maintenance?
New York allows post-divorce maintenance orders to be modified on a showing of "substantial change in circumstances" [1]. What counts? Job loss, major illness, retirement at a reasonable age, or a big jump in the payee's income all qualify. A minor salary bump does not.
The payee remarrying terminates maintenance automatically by statute. Death of either party ends it too. Cohabitation is different: New York courts can treat cohabitation as a change in circumstances, but it takes a court application, not automatic termination.
If both parties agree to a modification, you can do it by stipulation filed with the court. If one party won't agree, the requesting party files a motion in the Supreme Court where the divorce was granted.
Contracts are handled differently from court orders here. If your maintenance was set by a separation agreement and incorporated into the judgment, some agreements include language making the amount non-modifiable, and courts generally honor that language because you specifically contracted around the default rule. Want your agreement to be modifiable? Say so. Want it fixed? Say that too, in plain words.
For a broader look at how divorce papers work in an uncontested case, that piece covers what gets filed and why.
How does maintenance interact with child support in New York?
They're calculated separately, but they push on each other. New York's Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) figures child support as a percentage of "combined parental income." When there's also a maintenance order, the maintenance paid gets subtracted from the payor's income and added to the payee's income before the child support formula runs [5].
So the maintenance number drives the child support number. A higher maintenance payment lowers the payor's income for child support purposes, which shrinks the child support obligation. A lower maintenance payment does the reverse.
This is worth modeling carefully when both issues are live. Use a child support calculator to run child support at different maintenance amounts and watch the total picture shift.
The two obligations also carry different tax treatment. Child support is never deductible or taxable income, no matter when the agreement was signed, which adds one more layer to the math.
What does maintenance actually cost to litigate vs. settle?
Fight over maintenance in a contested New York divorce and the legal fees will dwarf the maintenance itself for a short marriage. New York attorney hourly rates in 2023 ran from roughly $300/hour in rural counties to $600 to $700/hour at major Manhattan family law firms. A fully litigated maintenance dispute over a 5-year marriage can burn $15,000 to $40,000 in legal fees on each side [6].
An uncontested divorce where both spouses agree on maintenance terms (or agree to waive it) keeps the costs simple. The New York Supreme Court index number fee is $210 [7]. There's no separate maintenance filing fee. Total filing costs for an uncontested New York divorce typically run $335 to $365 once you add all required fees.
The settlement math is hard to argue with. Even if you leave some money on the table in negotiation, you almost certainly save more than that in avoided attorney fees.
To see how fees compare across contested and uncontested paths, the divorce lawyer piece breaks down where legal costs pile up.
Do New York courts award maintenance in short marriages?
Short marriages, generally under five years, usually produce little or no maintenance. The advisory duration table spits out tiny numbers: a 3-year marriage at the 15 to 30% range means 5.4 to 10.8 months of support. Courts often decide a clean break with an equitable property split beats a short maintenance tail.
Exceptions exist. If one spouse quit a job to relocate for the other's career, or left school to support the household, a court can apply factor 9 (reduced earning capacity from career sacrifice) even in a short marriage. The bar is just higher.
For very short marriages with minimal shared property and no children, plenty of couples prefer a zero-maintenance agreement. It's simpler paperwork and it heads off future modification fights. That's a legitimate outcome, not a shortchange, as long as both parties have actually thought it through.
Where can you find the official New York maintenance forms and worksheets?
The New York Unified Court System posts all uncontested divorce forms, including the maintenance worksheet, at nycourts.gov [3]. The self-help center page walks you through which forms apply, depending on whether you have children and whether maintenance is at issue.
The court system's Divorce Action Instructions (the "UD packet") include explicit maintenance calculation instructions [3]. The instruction booklet runs about 30 pages and covers how to fill in the judgment of divorce to reflect your agreed maintenance terms.
For in-person help, each county courthouse has a self-help center staffed by facilitators who answer procedural questions. That's process guidance, not legal advice. Locations and hours are on the nycourts.gov self-help page [9].
This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Your situation may have facts that change the analysis. If you have any doubt about whether a maintenance waiver or a particular amount is fair to you, a one-time consultation with a divorce attorney is worth the cost.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to be married to get maintenance in New York?
There's no minimum marriage length in the statute. Courts can award maintenance for any marriage, but for marriages under 5 years the advisory duration tables produce very short terms (often under a year) and judges frequently prefer a clean equitable distribution. Realistically, maintenance claims become meaningful around the 5 to 7-year mark, and much more so past 10 years.
Is there an alimony calculator for New York that uses the actual formula?
The New York courts publish a maintenance worksheet inside the UD forms packet at nycourts.gov that walks through the statutory two-step formula. Several third-party "alimony calculator NY" tools replicate this math online. All of them use the same DRL §236B formula: Step 1 is 0.30 times payor income minus 0.20 times payee income; Step 2 is 0.40 times combined income minus payee income; the guideline amount is the lower of the two.
Does adultery affect alimony in New York?
Yes, but narrowly. New York courts can consider marital fault when deciding whether to award maintenance and how much, but DRL §236B directs them to weigh it only where the conduct "shocks the conscience of the court." Routine infidelity rarely clears that bar. Economic fault, meaning a spouse hiding assets or wasting marital money, usually carries more practical weight than sexual misconduct.
Can a husband get alimony from a wife in New York?
Yes. New York maintenance law is gender-neutral. Either spouse can be the payor or the payee. The formula runs the same way regardless of who earns more. Courts don't treat a husband's maintenance claim differently from a wife's. The only thing that sets the direction is the income comparison.
What income is used in the New York maintenance formula?
The formula uses gross income from all sources: wages, salary, self-employment income, investment income, rental income, unemployment benefits, disability payments, and imputed income if a court finds a spouse is voluntarily underemployed. The statutory income cap is $203,000 for the payor, adjusted every two years by CPI. Above that cap, the court has discretion.
Can you get maintenance in an uncontested New York divorce?
Yes, and most maintenance in New York is resolved in uncontested divorces through a negotiated settlement agreement. The parties agree on an amount and duration (or agree to waive it), put it in a stipulation, and the court incorporates it into the judgment. No trial, no maintenance hearing. The key is a written agreement both parties sign before filing.
How do I stop paying maintenance in New York after it ends?
If the order has a fixed end date and you've reached it, payments simply stop on that date. If the payee remarries, payments stop automatically on the remarriage date. For other termination events like the payee's cohabitation, you file a motion. Keep records of the end date and any triggering events. Don't stop paying without court confirmation unless the basis is remarriage or expiration of a fixed term.
What is the difference between a separation agreement and a maintenance order?
A separation agreement is a private contract between the spouses that can set maintenance terms. A maintenance order is issued by a court. In an uncontested divorce, the separation agreement gets incorporated into the judgment, giving it the force of a court order, and violations can be enforced by contempt. A separation agreement that is referenced but not merged into the judgment stays purely contractual and is enforced by contract remedies.
Does maintenance affect Social Security benefits in New York?
Maintenance payments don't directly affect Social Security eligibility or benefit amounts. But if you were married at least 10 years and haven't remarried, you may be entitled to Social Security spousal benefits based on your ex-spouse's record regardless of any maintenance agreement. That 10-year threshold is a federal rule run by the SSA and has nothing to do with the state maintenance calculation.
What happens to maintenance if I lose my job?
Job loss is a classic "substantial change in circumstances" that supports a modification petition under DRL §236B. You file a motion in the court that issued the original order. Courts will weigh whether the job loss was voluntary and whether you're making reasonable efforts to find work. A temporary reduction or suspension is possible, but it takes a court order. Don't stop payments on your own while you wait for the hearing.
How is maintenance enforced in New York if the payor stops paying?
New York has several enforcement tools. The payee can file a violation petition leading to contempt of court, which can mean fines or jail. Income execution (wage garnishment) is available. The Support Collection Unit can intercept tax refunds and report arrears to credit bureaus. Maintenance arrears stay collectible and don't expire under a statute of limitations the way some debts do.
Is there a difference between maintenance and spousal support in New York?
In New York, "maintenance" is the legally correct term for what most people call alimony or spousal support. They all mean the same thing in practice. Some older cases and documents use "alimony," but DRL §236B uses "maintenance." You'll occasionally see "spousal support" used loosely for the same idea, especially for temporary support during the case.
Sources
- New York State Legislature, Domestic Relations Law §236B: Governs maintenance in New York, lists 16 statutory factors, and sets modification and termination rules including automatic termination on remarriage or death
- New York State Legislature, 2015 Maintenance Reform Act (amending DRL §236B): Established advisory duration tables, the two-step post-divorce maintenance formula, and the income cap (now $203,000 adjusted biennially by CPI)
- New York Unified Court System, Uncontested Divorce Forms (UD packet) and Self-Help: Official source for uncontested divorce forms including maintenance worksheets and instruction booklets for pro se filers
- IRS Publication 504, Divorced or Separated Individuals: For divorce or separation instruments executed after December 31, 2018, alimony payments are not deductible by the payor and not includable in the recipient's gross income under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
- New York State Legislature, Family Court Act §413 (Child Support Standards Act): Maintenance paid is subtracted from the payor's income and added to the payee's income before the child support formula is applied
- American Bar Association, Survey on Lawyer Rates 2023: New York family law attorney hourly rates range from approximately $300/hour in less urban counties to $600-$700/hour at major New York City firms
- New York Unified Court System, Court Fees: New York Supreme Court index number fee for commencing a matrimonial action is $210
- New York Unified Court System, Self-Help Resources for Divorce Filers: Each New York county Supreme Court has a self-help center or matrimonial resources for pro se divorce filers
- Social Security Administration, Benefits Planner for Divorced Spouses: A divorced spouse married at least 10 years may claim Social Security spousal benefits on the ex-spouse's record; this is a federal rule independent of any state maintenance order