BILL NUMBER: S7654

SPONSOR: PHILLIPS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the family court act, in relation to
issuing temporary spousal support

 
PURPOSE:

To aid victims of domestic violence who face financial burdens when an
order of protection is issued against a monied spouse.

 
SUMMARY OF GENERAL PROVISIONS:

Section 1 provides that a family court may, conjunction with issuing a
temporary order of protection and temporary order for child support,
also issue a temporary order for spousal support. Calculation of the
temporary order of spousal support would be based on the metrics
contained in Domestic Relations Law Section 236 (6).

Section 2 establishes an effective date of 90 days after the bill
becomes law.
              

 
EXISTING LAW:

Current law does not allow a court to temporary spousal support when
issuing a temporary order of protection. A court may only award tempo-
rary child support when issuing a temporary order of protection.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act
authorizes Family Courts, when issuing orders of protection in family
offense cases, to issue temporary orders of child support.  However,
there is no similar provision for temporary orders of spousal support.
In Matter of Childers v. Childers, 260 A.D.2d 767 (3d Dept. 1999), the
Appellate Division noted that child support, but not spousal support,
may be ordered in conjunction with the issuance of an order of
protection. This bill would bring New York State in line with 36 other
states that authorize orders of temporary spousal support in conjunction
with temporary orders of protection.* In a domestic violence situation,
often times the petitioner seeking an order of protection is vulnerable
and lacks the finances necessary to relocate and escape future violence.
Accordingly, this bill would permit petitioners seeking a temporary
order of protection to have access to emergency financial relief in the
form of temporary spousal support.

One should note that since this bill appears to address emergency situ-
ations, often financial disclosure will not have yet taken place.
Accordingly, the bill permits issuance of a temporary order of spousal
support notwithstanding that information with respect to income and
assets of the respondent may be unavailable. Consequently, upon making
an order for temporary spousal support, especially where income and
assets remain undisclosed, the court would set the spousal support
matter down for determination of the final order.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPACT FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
90 days after the bill becomes law.
* The American Bar Association Commission on Domestic and Sexual
Violence has identified the following states as explicitly authorizing
orders of temporary spousal support to be issued in conjunction with
civil protection orders: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Dela-
ware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Loui-
siana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri,
Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina,
North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennes-
see, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.