The new law will affect all agreements and orders that were made after January 1, 2019. Alimony is still deductible by the payor and included in the recipient’s income. An order that is amended after January 1, 2019 will be deductible by the payor, and included as income to the recipient as long as it is expressly stated to be deductible by the payor.
- Spousal support will not disappear.
- Spousal support is an essential part of any divorce in which there is income disparity.
- The duration of spousal maintenance is usually one-half of the duration of the marriage.
- A court must decide how long spousal maintenance is required and justify any steps down.
- For marriages that last more than ten year, there is no presumption about the length of support.
- Courts have a tendency to end jurisdiction over spousal care in marriages that exceed ten years.
To prevent divorce parties from using alimony as a tax deduction, the law allowing deductibility of Alimony was written. These rules were confusing at best, and they trapped many parties to a divorce, as well as the lawyers who represented them. The rules stated that if the amount of alimony is reduced.
Summarized from an article by Walzer Melcher & Yoda LLP.
