The rest of what we have written about New York. Every figure is quoted from New York’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
Dividing property and money in a New York divorce
The money picture for a divorce in New York: how property gets divided, what New York calls spousal support and how it is decided, whether one spouse can be made to pay the other’s legal fees while the case is running, and — the part nobody publishes — whether New York’s own income tax follows the federal rule on alimony.
See a different stateNew York
Every claim is traced to New York’s own statute, court rule or revenue department, quoted where the wording carries the meaning. Where we could not verify something, the page says so instead of filling the space. Information, not legal advice — and tax questions in particular need a professional in your state. Corrections: thecusp.app/corrections.
The short version6 points · tap one to jump to it
- Does New York follow the federal alimony rule? — Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018.
- How property is divided — New York is an equitable distribution state.
- Maintenance — New York calls it maintenance.
- Child support — New York uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
- Who pays for the lawyers — A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case.
- The thing worth knowing about New York
In this subject 8
Does New York follow the federal alimony rule?
The short version6 points · tap one to jump to it
- Does New York follow the federal alimony rule? — Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018.
- How property is divided — New York is an equitable distribution state.
- Maintenance — New York calls it maintenance.
- Child support — New York uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
- Who pays for the lawyers — A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case.
- The thing worth knowing about New York
In this subject 8
Since 2019, federal law has treated alimony as not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient, for any instrument executed after 31 December 2018. Most people assume every state followed. Most did. Not all.
New York explicitly opted out of the TCJA’s federal alimony change for instruments executed or modified after December 31, 2018: for New York personal income tax purposes the payor still subtracts alimony/separate maintenance paid from federal AGI (i.e., it remains deductible), and the payee must add back alimony/separate maintenance received (i.e., it remains taxable) when computing New York AGI, contrary to the federal (non-deductible/non-taxable) rule.
This is the single most valuable fact on this page and almost nobody publishes it. It means the federal answer is not your answer: alimony that is invisible on your 1040 still moves on your state return.
Source: N.Y. Dept. of Taxation and Finance, Technical Memorandum TSB-M-18(6)I, “New York State Decouples from Certain Personal Income Tax Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Changes for 2018 and after” (Dec. 28, 2018) · source
Nationally: 37 states follow the federal rule, 9 have no income tax, and 4 are decoupled. The full fifty-state table and what each decoupled state does differently.
How property is divided
New York is an equitable distribution state. That means the court divides marital property fairly, which is not a synonym for equally. What counts as marital rather than separate property is frequently the whole argument.
Marital property shall be distributed equitably between the parties, considering the circumstances of the case and of the respective parties.
Source: N.Y. Domestic Relations Law (DRL) § 236(B)(5)(c)
Maintenance
New York calls it maintenance. Using the state’s own word matters when you are searching for forms or reading a statute.
guideline formula
A formula makes the outcome far more predictable than in a factors-only state — run it before you negotiate, not after.
the court shall order the post-divorce maintenance guideline obligation … unless the court finds that the post-divorce maintenance guideline obligation is unjust or inappropriate
Source: N.Y. Domestic Relations Law (DRL) § 236(B)(6)
Child support
New York uses the income shares model — both parents’ incomes go into the calculation, and the result is apportioned between you.
Whichever model applies, this is the most predictable number in your case — there is a formula and a presumption that its output is correct. Deviating from it takes written findings. Run it early; it is free, and it anchors everything else.
Guideline: N.Y. Domestic Relations Law § 240(1-b) (Child Support Standards Act); N.Y. Family Court Act § 413
Who pays for the lawyers
the court may direct either spouse … to pay counsel fees … as, in the court’s discretion, justice requires … There shall be a rebuttable presumption that counsel fees shall be awarded to the less monied spouse.
Source: N.Y. Domestic Relations Law (DRL) § 237(a)
where fees and expenses are to be awarded, they shall be awarded on a timely basis, pendente lite, so as to enable adequate representation from the commencement of the proceeding. Applications for the award of fees and expenses may be made at any time or times prior to final judgment.
A fee award that only arrives at final judgment is close to worthless to someone who could not afford a lawyer during the case. By then it is over. An interim award is what stops a wealthier spouse winning by attrition.
If you are the lower earner, this is the single most actionable thing on this page. Ask at the first meeting, in these words: “Can we move for an interim award of attorney fees now?” Do not let “we will deal with fees at the end” pass unexamined.
Separately, if custody is contested you may be ordered to pay for a guardian ad litem or a custody evaluator, and the court decides how to split that. What that costs in New York, and who bears it.
The thing worth knowing about New York
New York’s post-divorce maintenance guideline (DRL 236(B)(6)) includes both a mandatory presumptive dollar-amount formula (rebuttable only on enumerated factors, written on the record) and an advisory durational schedule tying the length of maintenance to length of marriage: 15%-30% of the marriage length for marriages up to 15 years, 30%-40% for 15-20 years, and 35%-50% for marriages over 20 years.