Family Law

Man Can’t Get Alimony Reduced Because Ex-Wife Is in Jail

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A New York judge has refused to reduce a man’s $4,000 a month in alimony payments to his ex-wife who is in jail after pleading guilty to a drug possession charge.

Justice Elaine Jackson Stack refused to lower the amount, saying it could be detrimental to the woman when she is released from jail, the New York Law Journal reports.

“Without funds and with no job potential or home available to her, she is likely to become a public charge or, in the worst case scenario, to engage in criminal conduct again.”

Ex-husband Scott May had claimed the amount should be reduced so he could spend the money on his children. He said his former spouse did not need the money since her needs are being covered by the state, just as a spouse who wins the lottery would no longer need alimony.

Scott had agreed to pay the amount in a divorce settlement.

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