Can You Change Alimony After Your New York Divorce Is Final?
Life does not stand still after divorce. Jobs are lost, health changes, and circumstances shift in ways no one could have predicted. For many people in Westchester and New York City, these changes raise an important question: can alimony be modified after the divorce is final? The answer depends significantly on how your maintenance was established and what has changed in your life.
Modifying Court-Ordered Maintenance
When a judge makes a decision about maintenance as part of a divorce judgment, modifying that order is challenging but not impossible. The person seeking modification must demonstrate a substantial change in circumstances. This is a legal standard that requires more than minor fluctuations in income or expenses.
Importantly, the change must not be your fault. Losing a job unexpectedly due to company layoffs or industry downturns could qualify as a substantial change. However, voluntarily quitting your job would not meet this standard. Courts are careful to prevent people from manipulating their circumstances to avoid maintenance obligations or to increase payments they receive.
The substantial change standard applies to both payers and recipients. A payer might seek reduction if their income drops significantly through no fault of their own. A recipient might seek an increase if they develop a health condition that prevents them from becoming self-supporting as anticipated. In either case, the court will carefully examine whether the change is genuine, substantial, and beyond the person’s control.
The Higher Bar for Settlement Agreements
The situation becomes more difficult when maintenance was established through a settlement agreement rather than a court order. Nearly all divorces end in settlement, which means most people face this higher standard if they later want to modify maintenance. For agreements, the standard is extraordinary hardship rather than substantial change of circumstances.
Extraordinary hardship is exactly what it sounds like: an extremely difficult situation that goes well beyond normal financial challenges. A payer seeking modification would typically need to show that they lost their job, have spent down their available assets trying to meet their obligations, and have made every possible effort to find new employment without success. This is a high bar to clear.
The reason for this stricter standard relates to the nature of settlement agreements. When both parties negotiate and agree to terms, they are making commitments they expect to honor. Courts are reluctant to rewrite these private agreements unless circumstances are truly dire. This is one reason why it is so important to negotiate realistic, sustainable maintenance terms during the initial divorce.
Understanding Imputed Income
Another important concept in New York maintenance law is imputed income. This applies when a court determines that someone could be earning money but is choosing not to work or is deliberately underemployed. If you quit your job or turn down reasonable employment opportunities, the court may calculate maintenance as if you were earning what you could be earning.
This principle works in both directions. A recipient spouse with education and skills who chooses not to work may find their maintenance reduced or denied because the court imputes income to them. A payer spouse who voluntarily reduces their income may find that maintenance is still calculated based on their earning capacity rather than their actual current income.
Planning for the Unexpected
Given how difficult modification can be, the best approach is to plan carefully during the initial divorce process. Consider potential changes in employment, health, and other circumstances when negotiating maintenance terms. Build in provisions that address how certain changes will be handled. Work with attorneys who understand both the law and the practical realities of life after divorce.
