Spousal Maintenance
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Michael has helped me tremendously. I’ve been going through a divorce for over a year now and he’s be there every step of the way. If I needed to contact him out of business hours, he always answers right away or calls back in a timely manner. My divorce was and still is very stressful. He has kept me cool and calm the whole time. I’ve had a lot of anxiety that he took away. Very detailed and very relaxed person. Made me feel so much more confident than I was before I stepped into his office.
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It might feel like your world is crumbling around you when you are going through a divorce, child custody battle, or other legal issue involving your family. Emotions run hot, and relationships can go from bad to worse quickly.
No matter how complicated your situation is right now, there is hope. Let experienced Rochester divorce lawyer Michael Schmitt help you take back your life.
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Download GuideRochester Divorce Attorney Handling Spousal Maintenance
Experienced Attorneys for New York State Alimony Issues
As an experienced Rochester Divorce Attorney I often advise my clients that spousal maintenance or alimony is anything but automatic under New York matrimonial law. When the marriage didn’t last very long, or both divorcing spouses are established in careers, it’s unlikely that the court will order one spouse to pay the other anything for alimony. As a general rule, only people who have been married for decades will have a strong claim to long-term spousal maintenance payments.
Every situation is different. There is no fixed formula that will tell you how much alimony will be paid. If you need dependable advice about spousal maintenance in your divorce, contact experienced Rochester Divorce Attorney Michael D. Schmitt for a free initial consultation.
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Skillfully Handling Spousal Maintenance Matters in Rochester
New York Supreme courts can award spousal maintenance in divorce cases. For marriages that lasted 25 years or longer, a rough rule of thumb is that payments will last for a period equal to one third of the length of the marriage – for example, 10 years of support for a 30-year marriage. If there’s no real basis awarding spousal maintenance on a showing of need in a marriage of shorter duration, however, it’s not likely that a court will order it.
Maintenance is usually negotiated together with property division issues. If your marriage lasted less than 15 years, and the facts show that the financially weaker spouse has a specific need for support while finishing a degree or reentering the workforce, then temporary maintenance might be ordered for two or three years. The tax implications of the maintenance payments should be taken into account, and you can count on your Rochester Divorce Attorney to advise you on how tax attributes can affect the practical value of the support and property division proposals under consideration.
Our experience with spousal maintenance issues for clients in a wide variety of circumstances can help you understand your options whether you’ll be making the payments or collecting them.
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If you need help with a spousal maintenance matter in New York, contact experienced Rochester Divorce Attorney Michael Schmitt for a free consultation.
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“Mike will end all your distrust and annoyance associated with legal proceedings. He handled my divorce and did an amazing job keeping it out of court and getting me what I wanted. He was there to talk to the whole time and made me feel he was on my side by his comments and advice. He is now representing my girlfriend for her custody battle and he was the only lawyer we would contact to handle the case. He is truly a good person which is hard to find with people associated with the law in this country. Thank you Mike for everything you have done for me and for everything you are doing for my girlfriend.”
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