Alimony and Spousal Maintenance Attorney in Hingham, Massachusetts
When do you see alimony awarded in a Massachusetts divorce?
When do you see alimony awarded in a Massachusetts divorce?
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In Massachusetts, we typically don’t see alimony cases where the parties have children and their combined income does not exceed $250,000.00, because Massachusetts law does not allow the court to use the same income that is used to calculate child support to also calculate alimony. So typically an alimony case is one where either the party’s income exceeds $250,000.00, usually by a significant amount, or the children are almost at the age where they’re going to be emancipated and child support’s not gonna be an issue for very long. There’s a statute in Massachusetts that states that the amount of alimony to be awarded to the recipient spouse should be based on that spouse’s need or generally 30 to 35 percent of the difference in the party’s incomes. Now that was workable up until the federal tax laws changed in 2018 so that alimony is no longer tax deductible to the payor, and it’s no longer taxable income to the recipient.
Even though Massachusetts still has this statute on the books that suggests, you know, a guideline of, like, 30 to 35 percent of the difference in the income, that’s really not fair now given the changes in the federal tax law. And Massachusetts so far hasn’t issued any guidelines or even any case law on what the – how that statute should be interpreted in light of the federal tax changes. So divorce lawyers in Massachusetts are sort of trying to determine what is a more fair percentage to use in an alimony case, because 30 to 35 percent in most cases is now no longer fair given the changes in the federal tax law.
Hingham, MA family law attorney Kimberley Keyes explains how alimony is awarded in a Massachusetts divorce. She explains that in Massachusetts, alimony cases are uncommon when the parties have children and their combined income does not exceed $250,000. This is because Massachusetts law prohibits the same income from being used to calculate both child support and alimony. As a result, alimony cases typically arise either when one or both parties’ income exceeds $250,000—often by a significant margin—or when the children are close to emancipation and child support will soon no longer be an issue.
She further notes that Massachusetts law provides a guideline stating that alimony should be based on the recipient spouse’s need or, generally, 30 to 35 percent of the difference in the parties’ incomes. For years, this framework was workable. However, the 2018 changes to federal tax law created complications: alimony payments are no longer tax-deductible for the payor, nor are they considered taxable income for the recipient.
Although the Massachusetts statute still sets forth the 30 to 35 percent guideline, she observes that this formula is now often inequitable in light of the federal tax changes. To date, Massachusetts has not issued updated guidelines or case law clarifying how the statute should be applied under the current tax framework. As a result, divorce attorneys across the state are working to develop fairer approaches to alimony calculations, since applying the traditional percentage range frequently produces outcomes that no longer align with principles of equity.
