Maintenance Should Not Have Been Granted in Absence of Proof of Standard of Living and Need for Maintenance

The Second Department determined Supreme Court abused its discretion by awarding maintenance in the absence of evidence of the parties’ standard of living and the plaintiff’s need for maintenance:

…[T]he Supreme Court’s award of maintenance to the plaintiff was an improvident exercise of its discretion since the award was made in the absence of any evidence of the parties’ standard of living during the marriage, and in the absence of evidence that the plaintiff, who is otherwise self-supporting, needs maintenance to sustain his pre-divorce standard of living. Additionally, the defendant’s reasonable needs preclude an award of maintenance to the plaintiff. Under these circumstances, the plaintiff should not have been awarded maintenance… .  Lucere v Lucere, 2013 NY Slip Op 05801, 2nd Dept 9-11-13