What's happening
This bill increases the spousal maintenance income cap from $175,000 to $184,000 and changes the adjustment date to March 1, 2020.
Why it matters
Raises the maximum annual income considered for spousal maintenance calculations, meaning higher-earning payors may now have a greater portion of their income subject to spousal support formulas.
Adjusts the baseline date for future cost-of-living increases, potentially resulting in higher caps sooner and more frequent recalculation of support obligations.
Could impact both payors (who may face higher maintenance payments) and recipients (who may receive increased support), especially in cases where the payor’s income falls between the old and new caps.
Reflects an effort to keep spousal maintenance standards in line with inflation and economic changes, potentially affecting divorce negotiations and court outcomes for many New Yorkers.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Raise Spousal Support Cap
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.523
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.446
- Substituted for A7518
- Referred to judiciary
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 61–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.706
Show 1 earlier action
- Referred to judiciary
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Raise Spousal Support Cap
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Latoya Joyner
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
5515
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 3, 2019
Introduced by Sen. MONTGOMERY -- (at request of the Office of Court Administration) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the family court act and the domestic relations law, in relation to the date of adjustment and amount of the spousal maintenance cap
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 of section 412 of the family court act, as added by chapter 269 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(d) "income cap" shall mean up to and including one hundred [seventyfive] eighty-four thousand dollars of the payor's annual income; provided, however, beginning [January thirty-first] March first, two thousand [sixteen] twenty and every two years thereafter, the income cap amount shall increase by the sum of the average annual percentage changes in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) as published by the United States department of labor bureau of labor statistics for the prior two years multiplied by the then income cap and then rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. The office of court administration shall determine and publish the income cap.
§ 2. Subparagraph 5 of paragraph b of subdivision 5-a of part B of section 236 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 269 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(5) "Income cap" shall mean up to and including one hundred [seventyfive] eighty-four thousand dollars of the payor's annual income; provided, however, beginning [January thirty-first] March first, two thousand [sixteen] twenty and every two years thereafter, the income cap amount shall increase by the sum of the average annual percentage changes in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) as published by the United States department of labor bureau of labor
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09984-01-9
S. 5515 2
statistics for the prior two years multiplied by the then income cap and then rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. The office of court administration shall determine and publish the income cap.
§ 3. Subparagraph 4 of paragraph b of subdivision 6 of part B of section 236 of the domestic relations law, as amended by chapter 269 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
(4) "Income cap" shall mean up to and including one hundred [seventyfive] eighty-four thousand dollars of the payor's annual income; provided, however, beginning [January thirty-first] March first, two thousand [sixteen] twenty and every two years thereafter, the income cap amount shall increase by the sum of the average annual percentage changes in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) as published by the United States department of labor bureau of labor statistics for the prior two years multiplied by the then income cap and then rounded to the nearest one thousand dollars. The office of court administration shall determine and publish the income cap.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the family court act and the domestic relations law, in relation to the date of adjustment and amount of the spousal maintenance cap
This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Matrimoni- al Practice Advisory and Rules Committee.
This measure would amend provisions of the Family Court Act and the Domestic Relations Law to change the biennial date of adjustment of the "income cap" under the maintenance guidelines law to coincide with the biennial adjustment date of the "income cap" under the Child Support Standards Act.
The maintenance guidelines law, enacted as chapter 269 of the Laws of 2015, provided that the maintenance income cap would be set initially at $175,000 and would increase pursuant to an adjustment formula keyed to increases in the CPI on January 31, 2016 and every two years thereafter. January 31' was the date set for adjustment of the temporary maintenance income cap under the temporary maintenance law, enacted in 2010, in effect prior to enactment of the maintenance guidelines law. It also was the date that the child support combined income cap pursuant to the Child Support Standards Act would have been adjusted. However, effective January 31, 2016, 90 days after the Governor signed into law chapter 347 of the Laws of 2015, the date of adjustment of the Child Support Combined Income Cap was changed to March 1" rather than January 31' to conform with the date of adjustment of the self-support reserve pursuant to Social Services Law § 111-42)(b). The adjustment date of the mainte- nance income cap should be changed as well because it will be simpler and more efficient for the public and matrimonial bench and bar to understand if the adjustments in the maintenance and child support income caps all occur at the same time. This also will save unnecessary costs of reprinting the Uncontested Divorce Packets on January 31st and then again on March 1st. Not only must the forms be revised and printed twice in a two-month period, but the child support and maintenance calculators must be revised as well.
Accordingly, this measure would amend Family Court Act § 412(2)(d) and Domestic Relations Law § 236B(5-a)(b)(5) and § 236B(6)(b)(4) to fix the date of the biennial adjustment of the temporary, post-divorce and spousal maintenance "income caps" at March 1" rather than January 31', as currently provided. By making the date March 1St rather than January 31st, the adjustment of the maintenance income cap would coincide with the date of adjustment of the child support combined parental income cap, as well as the date of adjustment of the federal poverty income level and self-support reserve.
Although this measure may seem ministerial in nature, its enactment would further the goals of the Excellence Initiative by eliminating wasted time and resources and increasing access to justice for litigants by reducing litigation delays caused by confusion over which cap applies.
This measure, which would have no meaningful fiscal impact, would take effect immediately.
Legislative history
OCA 2018-88; 5.7675; A.9919 (passed). '
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.