How does the court decide how much maintenance to award?
If the court finds that a maintenance award is appropriate, it will order guideline maintenance if the combined gross annual income of the spouses is less than $500,000. The payor is not obligated to pay child support or maintenance from a previous relationship. In this case, the maintenance amount is calculated by subtracting 25% of the payee’s net annual income from 33 1/3% of the payor’s net annual income. However, if maintenance and child support combined exceed 50% of the payor’s net income, the court can award non-guideline maintenance at its discretion after considering all relevant factors.