Duration and Amount of Maintenance
It is well settled that the amount and duration of maintenance are matters committed to the sound discretion of the trial court. Frost v. Frost, 49 A.D.3d 1150 (4th Dept. 2008); Booth v. Booth, 24 A.D.3d 1238 (4th Dept. 2005). Each case must be considered based on the unique facts and circumstances it presents. Xikis v. Xikis, 43 A.D.3d 1040 (2nd Dept. 2007), appeal denied, 10 N.Y.3d 704 (2008).
When fashioning a maintenance award, the trial court is required to take into account the parties’ pre-separation standard of living. Fitzpatrick v. Fitzpatrick, 43 A.D.3d 991 (2nd Dept. 2007). The court must also consider the reasonable needs of the recipient spouse, and the pre-separation standard of living in the context of the other factors set forth in Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(6)(a), and then, in its discretion, determine a fair and equitable maintenance award. Id.
In Booth v. Booth, 24 A.D.3d 1238 (4th Dept. 2005), the Fourth Department perceived no abuse of discretion in the award of maintenance to the plaintiff, where the record established that defendant had steady employment and received supplemental income from the Air Force disability payments and rental properties. In addition, the defendant received Social Security payments for each child based on the plaintiff’s disability, and the plaintiff had been ordered to pay child support to the defendant. In comparison, the plaintiff’s income consisted of Social Security disability payments and minimal wages from part-time employment at a fast-food restaurant. Although her income exceeded her expenses, the plaintiff had health problems that affected the stability of her employment. The lower court’s award of maintenance to the plaintiff thus was upheld on appeal. Id.
In Pickard v. Pickard, 33 A.D.3d 202 (1st Dept. 2006), appeal dismissed, 7 N.Y.3d 897 (2006), lifetime maintenance of $3,500.00 per month was appropriately awarded to the plaintiff in view of the 23-year duration of the parties’ marriage, plaintiff’s role in raising and educating the parties’ children, plaintiff’s minimal job skills, plaintiff’s extended absence from the workforce, and the parties’ respective financial positions. Id.
Similarly, in Xikis v. Xikis, 43 A.D.3d 1040 (2nd Dept. 2007), appeal denied, 10 N.Y.3d 704 (2008), the parties lived together for 28 years and were married for over 18 years. The defendant was not employed during most of the marriage, had limited education and skills, and was 60 years old at the time of the judgment. In addition to the properties awarded to the defendant by the Supreme Court, in the exercise of discretion and upon consideration of all relevant factors, an award of $1,500 as monthly non-durational maintenance was deemed to be appropriate. Id.
In Fitzpatrick v. Fitzpatrick, 43 A.D.3d 991 (2nd Dept. 2007), the Supreme Court was found to have providently exercised its discretion in awarding maintenance to the plaintiff-wife in the sum of $3,000 per month until she reached the age of 65.
Likewise, in Nichols v. Nichols, 19 A.D.3d 775 (3rd Dept. 2005), Supreme Court did not abuse its discretion in fixing maintenance at $350 per week until the plaintiff turned 62, a period of six years. In rendering its decision, the court noted that the Defendant earned $96,910 annually, while the plaintiff received only $18,056 annually from a disability retirement pension and earnings from part-time employment. The court also considered the plaintiff’s age and poor health, the gross disparity between the parties’ incomes, and the unlikelihood of the plaintiff becoming self-supporting. Id.
In Taylor v. Taylor, 300 A.D.2d 298 (2nd Dept. 2002), the defendant contended that the Supreme Court erred in continuing his maintenance obligation until the plaintiff-wife attained the age of 65 or until he retired, whichever occurred later. The parties were married for over 27 years when the action commenced. The plaintiff had ceased working outside the home to raise the parties’ children, and the parties stipulated that her medical condition precluded gainful employment in the future. In contrast, the defendant was steadily employed during the marriage and had the potential to increase his future earnings. Given the disparity in the parties’ financial circumstances, the lower court was found to have providently exercised its discretion in directing the defendant to pay maintenance until the plaintiff became eligible for full Social Security benefits at the age of 65, or until the defendant retired, whichever occurred later, or until the death or remarriage of the plaintiff. The appellate court opined that considering the factors relevant to an award of maintenance, particularly the plaintiff’s inability to earn any income, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in determining that the plaintiff was entitled to maintenance payments sufficient to meet her reasonable expenses.
In Brzuszkiewitz v. Brzuszkiewitz, 28 A.D.3d 860 (3rd Dept. 2006), the appellate court rejected the defendant’s contention that Supreme Court abused its discretion by awarding the plaintiff non-durational maintenance. The matrimonial action was filed after the parties had been married for 23 years and had three children, one of whom still was under 21 years of age at the time of the appeal. The record reflected that Supreme Court considered the relevant statutory factors, giving particular emphasis to the disparity between the parties’ incomes, the plaintiff’s age, her lack of assets, and the defendant’s dissipation of assets. The defendant earned $55,000 per year, and his income was likely to increase before he retired. The plaintiff received only $22,000 per year from her employment and had little prospect of any significant increase before she retired, given that she was 57 years of age at the time of trial and had limited earning capacity due to her arthritis and severe hearing loss. The record also supported Supreme Court’s finding that the plaintiff’s income from her pension and Social Security after retirement would be less than her current earnings, which were already insufficient to meet her modest monthly expenses. Those factors all militated in favor of an award of permanent maintenance, and the record showed that the lower court appropriately balanced the plaintiff’s needs with the defendant’s ability to pay.
Likewise, in Cameron v. Cameron, 51 A.D.3d 1165 (3rd Dept. 2008), inasmuch as the record reflected that Supreme Court gave appropriate consideration to the pertinent factors set forth in Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(6)(a), the appellate court rejected plaintiff’s argument that the court abused its discretion in awarding defendant non-durational maintenance.
In Kaplan v. Kaplan, 21 A.D.3d 993 (2nd Dept. 2005), the mother was awarded maintenance in the sum of $7,500 per month for 5 years. Contrary to the father’s contention, the maintenance award was a proper exercise of the trial court’s discretion, taking into consideration the relevant factors, including the parties’ pre-separation standard of living, the separate property retained by each party and their respective net equitable distributive awards of marital property, the mother’s absence from the workforce as a certified social worker for most of the period following the birth of the parties’ special needs child, the mother’s continued role as the primary caretaker of a special needs child, the father’s significantly higher earning capacity as a successful partner in a radiology practice, and the short duration of the parties’ marriage.
In Saylor v. Saylor, 32 A.D.3d 1358 (4th Dept. 2006), the record established that the parties were married for 30 years, that the defendant was the primary breadwinner throughout the marriage, that the plaintiff stayed at home with the children or worked part-time for most of the marriage, thereby delaying her career prospects, and that there was a large disparity in the incomes of the parties. The Fourth Department upheld the lower court’s maintenance award on appeal, determining that the Supreme Court properly set forth the factors it considered in determining the amount and duration of the maintenance award.
Thus, each divorce case where maintenance is sought needs to be carefully evaluated on its merits to establish whether maintenance would be appropriate under the pertinent factors set forth in Domestic Relations Law §236(B)(6)(a).
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