At page 927 Deducting fica taxes from spousal maintenance income7 citing cases“since fica taxes should be deducted only from income upon which fica taxes are 'actually paid' prior to applying the provisions of domestic relations law 240 (1-b) (c)”
- Johnson v. Johnson, 172 A.D.3d 1654 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep't 2019).publishedAlthough the court properly deducted standard FICA taxes from the mother's income ( see Kaufman v Kaufman , 102 AD3d 925, 927 [2013]), the 15.3% deduction that was applied to the husband's income was excessive, and the evidence demonstrate…
- Bruzzese v. Bruzzese, 152 A.D.3d 563 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2017).publishedHowever, contrary to the plaintiff’s contention, the court otherwise properly calculated his child support obligation (see Domestic Relations Law § 240; Kaufman v Kaufman, 102 AD3d 925, 927 [2013]).
- Castello v. Castello, 144 A.D.3d 723 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2016).publishedAlthough the court deducted the correct amount of FICA taxes ($2,295) from the plaintiff’s imputed income of $30,000 to arrive at $27,705, the court should have added the total annual maintenance the plaintiff received to this amount to ar…
- C.G. v. F.G., 53 Misc. 3d 229 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2016).publishedFrom these gross amounts the court is required to subtract statutory tax deductions that were “actually paid.” (See Kaufman v Kaufman, 102 AD3d 925, 927 [2d Dept 2013].) Husband’s 2015 W-2 indicates that he paid the sum of $7,347 in Social…
- Belkhir v. Amrane-Belkhir, 118 A.D.3d 1396 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dep't 2014).published “Since FICA taxes should be deducted only from income upon which FICA taxes are ‘actually paid’ prior to applying the provisions of Domestic Relations Law § 240 (1-b) (c)” (Kaufman v Kaufman, 102 AD3d 925, 927 [2013]), the child support ca…
- Belkhir, Lotfi v. Amrane-belkhir, Souad, No. CA 13-00762 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dep't June 20, 2014).published
At page 926 Modifying maintenance and child support awards5 citing casesthe Supreme Court, Orange County (Ritter, J.), dated December 22, 2010, as, upon a decision of the same court dated December 2, 2010, made after a nonjury…
- D'Iorio v. D'Iorio, 135 A.D.3d 693 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2016).publishedAccordingly, the duration of the defendant’s maintenance should be until the earliest of her eligibility for full Social Security retirement benefits, her remarriage or cohabitation pursuant to Domestic Relations Law § 248, or the death of…
- Merrick v. Merrick, 132 A.D.3d 742 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2015).published“The court may order maintenance in such amount as justice requires, considering, inter alia, the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, the income and property of the parties, the distribution of marital property, the dura…
- Carroll v. Carroll, 125 A.D.3d 710 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2015).publishedAccordingly, the Supreme Court should have awarded the defendant maintenance until the earliest of her eligibility for full Social Security retirement benefits at the age of 66, her remarriage, or the death of either party (see Hymowitz v…
- Jaramillo v. Jaramillo, 108 A.D.3d 651 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2013).published “The court may order maintenance in such amount as justice requires, considering, inter alia, the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, the income and property of the parties, the distribution of marital property, the dura…
At page 925 In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the defendant appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a judgment of1 citing case
- DiPalma v. DiPalma, 112 A.D.3d 663 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dep't 2013).published The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in awarding the plaintiff nondurational maintenance in the sum of $1,500 per month. “[T]he amount and duration of maintenance is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial…
v.
Steven Kaufman
In an action for a divorce and ancillary relief, the defendant appeals, as limited by his brief, from so much of a judgment of[*926] the Supreme Court, Orange County (Ritter, J.), dated December 22, 2010, as, upon a decision of the same court dated December 2, 2010, made after a nonjury trial, awarded the plaintiff maintenance in the sum of $577 per week until she reaches the age of 66, remarries, or dies, whichever occurs first; directed him to continue the plaintiffs health insurance coverage during the period he is obligated to pay maintenance, or until the plaintiff becomes entitled to Medicare or is otherwise insured, whichever is sooner; directed the plaintiff to pay child support in the sum of only $155 per week for the period from December 2, 2010, until February 28, 2013, only $133 per week from “February 29, 2013,” until July 18, 2015, and only $91 per week from July 19, 2015, until July 24, 2017; failed to apportion to the plaintiff a share of the cost of uncovered health care for the parties’ three unemancipated children; failed to apportion to the plaintiff a share of the cost of the children’s college expenses; and, failed to apportion to the plaintiff a share of the payments toward a certain loan debt.
Ordered that the judgment is modified, on the law, by deleting the provisions thereof directing the plaintiff to pay child support in the sum of $155 per week for the period from December 2, 2010, until February 28, 2013, $133 per week from “February 29, 2013,” until July 18, 2015, and $91 per week from July 19, 2015, until July 24, 2017, and substituting therefor provisions directing the plaintiff to pay the defendant child support in the sum of $167.33 per week for the period from December 2, 2010, until February 28, 2013, $144.25 per week for the period from March 1, 2013, until July 18, 2015, and $98.08 per week from July 19, 2015, until July 24, 2017; as so modified, the judgment is affirmed insofar as appealed from, without costs or disbursements.
“The ‘amount and duration of maintenance is a matter committed to the sound discretion of the trial court, and every case must be determined on its own unique facts’ ” (Morales v Inzerra, 98 AD3d 484, 484 [2012], quoting Wortman v Wortman, 11 AD3d 604, 606 [2004]). “The court may order maintenance in such amount as justice requires, considering, inter alia, the standard of living of the parties during the marriage, the income and property of the parties, the distribution of marital property, the duration of the marriage, the health of the parties, the present and future earning capacity of both parties, the ability of the party seeking maintenance to become self-supporting, and the reduced or lost lifetime earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance” (Kret v Kret, 222 AD2d 412, 412 [1995]; see Scher v Scher, 91 AD3d 842, 847 [2012]). Here, the Supreme[*927] Court providently exercised its discretion in awarding the plaintiff maintenance in the sum of $577 per week until she reaches the age of 66, remarries, or dies, whichever occurs first.
In calculating the plaintiffs share of child support under the Child Support Standards Act (Domestic Relations Law § 240 [1-b]), the Supreme Court first deducted a certain amount from her income for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (26 USC subtit C, ch 21; hereinafter FICA) taxes. However, in this case, the plaintiffs sole source of income is the spousal maintenance to be paid to her by the defendant. Since FICA taxes should be deducted only from income upon which FICA taxes are “actually paid” prior to applying the provisions of Domestic Relations Law § 240 (1-b) (c) (Domestic Relations Law § 240 [1-b] [b] [5] [vii] [H]; see Brevilus v Brevilus, 72 AD3d 999, 1001 [2010]), and since FICA taxes are not paid from amounts received for maintenance, the Supreme Court’s calculations were erroneous.
The defendant’s remaining contentions are without merit. Mastro, J.P., Rivera, Dickerson and Lott, JJ., concur.