Instead of simply passing the simple no-fault legislation we desperately needed, the Legislature handed the people of the State of New York and its over-burdened court system a hodgepodge which will make matrimonial litigation more costly and take longer to resolve. In particular, the interim spousal support law, which appears to have been part of the quid pro quo for no-fault’s passage, is a combination of an interim support bill and a final support bill rushed haphazardly into one. As a result, factors that can only relate to final support and be determined at the conclusion of trial when equitable distribution has also been had, are interjected, causing inherent conflict and inconsistency throughout the statute’s text.
Until remedial action is taken, lawyers, clients and courts (both on the trial and appellate level) will be sorting this out for the foreseeable future.1 Fortunately, in the first published decision dealing with the temporary maintenance statute, Justice Jeffrey Sunshine, in Scott M. v. Ilona M.,2 has taken reasoned and logical steps to fashioning a decision that takes into account some of the statute’s flaws rather than using the easy, unjust and formulaic approach.3
Statutory Background
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