I’m hearing that a lot of consent decrees are getting rejected lately because they don’t meet the court’s requirements. One major reason for rejection is not including the required findings for spousal maintenance. That’s not surprising–the guidelines are brand new and impose a lot of new requirements. I created some form language that should cover most situations where one party is receiving spousal maintenance. No guarantees, but this is the best I could come with based on the current rules and guidance from the court. I’m calling this version 1.0.
Also, note that the supreme court just adopted another change to Rule 45 that becomes effective January 1, 2024. Rule 45 will now require a Spousal Maintenance Worksheet to be included with all decrees that include an award of spousal maintenance, even if the parties have agreed to an amount outside the guidelines.