Alimony and Spousal Maintenance Attorney in Bradley Beach, New Jersey
What trends do you see in the awarding of spousal support?
What trends do you see in the awarding of spousal support?
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so it’s interesting in terms of
what we’re now seeing in spousal support
is a stabilization
of how to compute or approach support
because just a couple of years ago i
believe it was effective
january 1 2019 so with the 2019 tax year
the tax law changed so prior to that
year
spousal support was deductible to the
paying spouse
but was almost earned income it was
taxable income to the spouse who
received the support so the entire
divorce community or the divorce
industry lawyers judges accountants
when we computed spousal support it was
always with the understanding that the
person who paid support would get a
deduction for that and the person who
received support would receive less
dollars in pocket because it was taxable
and in 2019 that changed so the person
paying alimony no longer received a
deduction for it the person receiving
alimony received it in total net dollars
and that created discrepancy across the
state of new jersey because no one
really knew
how we should adjust
our approach to computing alimony now
that this tax component changed in such
a significant way
and here at our firm we really practice
from
you know up in bergen county down to
atlantic county and you saw changes or
discrepancies in the entire state the
way that mediators and judges were
approaching
the computation of alimony up in bergen
county was completely different than how
they were doing it in central jersey and
south jersey and in western parts of new
jersey
and what we’re seeing now that
this tax formula has been
in place for now three years is a
stabilization and more more harmony
within the state so it’s much easier for
those of us who do practice in many
different counties to understand where
the numbers are going to fall out so
that is a very welcome development
within the alimony world
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Bradley Beach, NJ family law attorney Cipora Winters discusses the trends she sees in the awarding of spousal support. She notes that recent years have brought a stabilization in how spousal support is computed, especially following a significant tax law change that took effect with the 2019 tax year. Before then, spousal support was deductible to the paying spouse and taxable to the recipient, so the entire divorce community—including lawyers, judges, and accountants—factored that into support calculations. After the law changed, the paying spouse could no longer deduct alimony, while the recipient received the full amount tax-free. This shift created discrepancies across New Jersey, as courts, mediators, and practitioners in different counties applied varying approaches to calculating alimony. At her firm, which handles cases statewide, she observed sharp contrasts between practices in northern, central, southern, and western parts of New Jersey. Now, several years later, the approach has largely stabilized, creating greater consistency across the state. For attorneys who practice in multiple counties, she explains, this uniformity is a welcome development that makes it easier to predict outcomes and guide clients effectively.
