A Nassau County judge dramatically reversed himself in a decision about divorce payments that had been cited by an independent commission as an example of flaws in legislation passed to reform New York's matrimonial laws.

In March 2011, Judge Norman Janowitz ordered Jeffrey Goldberg to pay his wife Jill Goldberg more than $17,000 a month, though his monthly take-home pay as an investment banker was only $12,775, according to court documents. His wife, Jill, is employed as a guidance counselor, earning $103,000 a year. Mr....