Praise for new law granting financial help in divorce

Domestic violence groups on Long Island are applauding a new law that will grant temporary assistance to the poorer spouse during a divorce case.

The new law, part of a package of legislation that Gov. David A. Paterson signed this week that includes the no-fault divorce law, establishes a formula that courts must use in determining how much financial support the higher-earning spouse must give to his or her spouse during their divorce case. Previously, such support was up to the judge.

The law takes effect Oct. 12.

Wendy Linsalata, director of advocacy services at the Suffolk County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said she expects the law to especially help victims of domestic violence - who are overwhelmingly women - since abusive spouses often will withhold money to control their partners.

"Part of the abusive behavior is economic control and abuse," Linsalata said. "While the divorce is pending, the victim is left penniless."

Lois Schwaeber, director of legal services at the Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said that divorce cases can take years to conclude. Previously, the poorer spouse could sometimes end up with no money to live on at all, she said, while the spouse with the higher income delays the proceedings.

"I saw a woman yesterday whose husband had seven attorneys. He's now back to his first attorney," Schwaeber said. "It's a stalling tactic. As long as this goes on, he doesn't have to divide the wealth. She's living in her mother's house, and he has his money."

Under the new law, if the higher-earning spouse makes less than $500,000, the judge will apply a mathematical formula based on the difference between the two incomes. If one of the incomes is more than $500,000, the judge would also consider other factors such as the length of the marriage, the needs of the lower-earning spouse and any children, and whether there was domestic violence. The formula doesn't apply to the indigent.

But Lee Rosenberg, a Garden City attorney and vice chair of the Nassau County Bar Association's matrimonial law committee, said, "You could plug in the information and come up with a number, but does that number exceed the person's needs, so that the moneyed spouse is paying more than the nonmoneyed spouse might need?" Rosenberg said. " I really do not believe this statute was looked at as long as it should have."