Spousal Maintenance

Chicago and IL Alimony and Spousal Maintenance Lawyers

Alimony attorneys serving Chicago, Skokie, and Cook County, Illinois

Section 504 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act sets forth the guidelines for awarding spousal maintenance, otherwise known as alimony, to a spouse. Maintenance is only available to those who have been married and is not an option for unmarried couples. A Chicago divorce attorney or a Skokie divorce attorney at Gordon & Perlut, LLC can explain spousal maintenance possibilities in your case. Maintenance may be granted by a court on a temporary or permanent basis for either spouse in amounts pursuant to certain guidelines or as the courts deem just, without regard to marital misconduct, after considering the following factors:

FACTORS:

  • The income and property of each party, including marital property, apportioned and non-marital property assigned to the party seeking maintenance;
  • The needs of each party.
  • The realistic present and future earning capacity of each party;
  • Any impairment of the present and future earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to domestic duties or having forgone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;
  • Any impairment of the realistic present or future earning capacity of the party against whom maintenance is sought;
  • The time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and whether that party is able to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or any parental responsibility arrangements and its effect on the party seeking employment;
  • The standard of living established during the marriage;
  • The duration of the marriage.The age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, and the needs of each of the parties; and the physical and emotional condition of both parties;
  • All sources of public and private income including, without limitation, disability and retirement income;
  • The tax consequences of the property division on the respective economic circumstances of the parties.
  • Contributions and serves by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse;
  • Any valid agreement of the parties; and
  • Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable.

Once the Court determines that a party is eligible for maintenance, the Court must determine the amount of maintenance and the length.

AMOUNT OF SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE:

If you and your spouses’ combined income is less than $250,000, the guideline for calculating maintenance is as follows: 30% of higher-earning spouses’ gross income, less 20% of the lower-earning spouses’ gross income. The party receiving maintenance shall not receive more than 40% of the total combined income of both parties. Use our Illinois Spousal maintenance calculator to determine the amount of maintenance you may be eligible for or may be required to pay. If you and your spouses’ combined income exceeds $250,000, please contact an attorney at Gordon & Perlut, LLC who can explain how maintenance will be calculated.

DURATION

The Court determines the length of maintenance by multiplying the length of the marriage at the time the divorce action is filed by the following factors:

Years of Marriage Factors

5 Years or Less     .2

More than 5 years, but less than 10 .4

10 years or more, but less than 15 .6

15 years or more but less than 20 .8

20 Years or More Permanent or equal to the length of the marriage

One of the primary factors to consider, if both parties are able-bodied, is the age of the party seeking maintenance, the length of the marriage, and whether that party made certain professional/career sacrifices in order to raise the family. The most common maintenance case is where a spouse stopped working to stay at home to raise the parties’ children. In those situations, one of the questions is how long it will take that spouse to rehabilitate him or herself and get back into the workforce. Another question is what the lifestyle of the parties was during the marriage. For example, if the working spouse during the marriage made a very large income, the non-working spouse may have difficulty in maintaining the lifestyle to which they have been accustomed without continued support from the other spouse.

Our Cook County divorce lawyers often find that clients are frustrated by the absence of a percentage schedule in Illinois for alimony, as is also the case with child support. It is left up to judges to determine need and the appropriate amount of maintenance. An experienced Skokie divorce attorney should treat each family situation as unique and can help you obtain maintenance based on your needs. Mediation may be a viable option for reaching a fair agreement regarding spousal support. Our seasoned attorneys can help you fully explore your options.

Ask an experienced Cook County divorce lawyer for assistance

You’ll need a skilled divorce attorney who understands all of the variables influencing the amount of maintenance awarded to a spouse. contact Gordon & Perlut, LLC today. our Chicago divorce lawyers can help you with the process. Call our Chicago office at 312-360-0250 or our Skokie office at 847-329-0101 for more information.

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