In 2010 the Legislature adopted a formula method for computing the presumptively correct amount of temporary maintenance, similar to that employed in the calculation of child support. The Legislature considered adoption of the formula approach for post-divorce maintenance but did not do so. It did, however, direct the Law Revision Commission to “review the maintenance laws of the state” to determine their impact “on post marital economic disparities.”1 Indications are that the commission’s report will be forthcoming in April of this year.
Given that the Legislature may be poised to extend the formulaic approach to post-divorce maintenance, this is a propitious point to pause and consider the history of spousal support as well as its underlying rationale. The history of alimony is enlightening not as an exercise in academics but because it underscores the truly radical nature of the formula method under consideration.
When Harry Met Sally
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