Spousal Support Following an Illinois Divorce

 Posted on December 17, 2019 in Spousal Maintenance/Alimony

Spousal support, also known as maintenance, is court-ordered payments one spouse pays to the other spouse after a divorce.

The 750 Illinois Compiled Statute 5/504, titled ‘maintenance’ states that  “the court may grant a maintenance award for either spouse in amounts and for periods of time as the court deems just, without regard to marital misconduct, and the maintenance may be paid from the income or property of the other spouse.”

Ordered Maintenance

When deciding whether to establish spousal support, the court will use the following information to determine whether one spouse should pay the other maintenance payments:

• Income and property (of both parties; includes marital and non-marital property and financial responsibilities)
• Current and future financial earnings
• Needs of the spouses
• Time spent on marital tasks and/or education, training, employment or professional opportunities
• Parental obligations
• Living situation
• Duration of marriage
• Age, health condition (physical, emotion, and mental), job status, etc.
• Taxes
• Spousal agreements

Spousal Support/Maintenance Payments

The Illinois court system will traditionally apply a pre-set payment guideline to determine the amount of maintenance if you and your spouse’s total income is less than $500,000.

The pre-set formula is 33.33 percent of the payer’s net income minus 25 percent of the receiver's net income.

For example, if the payer makes $210,000 and the receiver makes $75,000, the maintenance payment would be $51,243 per year or $4,270.25 per month.

The equation is as follows:

($210,000 ✕ 33.33%) - ($75,000 ✕  25%)

69,9993 - 18,750 = $51,243

51,243 ➗ 12 (months in a year) = $4,270.25

According to Illinois law, maintenance payments, when added to the receiver’s income, cannot exceed 40 percent of the couple's total income, otherwise, they may be reduced.

Spousal support/maintenance payments are usually based on the length of the marriage. Whether that was a few months or several years, payments will equal a set percent of its length.

Contact an Illinois Spousal Support Attorney Today

At Weiss-Kunz & Oliver, LLC, our attorneys understand that your current and future financial responsibilities are important. There is absolutely no reason why your divorce should leave you financially unstable. We will stand by your side and fight to get you the spousal support you may be entitled to. Contact an Elmhurst, IL spousal support attorney at 312-605-4041. We proudly serve those located in many Chicago-area cities including Skokie, Evanston, Park Ridge, Oak Park, and Glenview.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050k504.htm