Spousal Support Lawyer in Chicago

How Does Alimony Work, and When Does It End?

When maintenance is court-ordered, one spouse pays the other a set amount each month. Some orders call for weekly or bi-weekly payments instead. Payments continue until one of the following happens:

• A specific court-ordered end date is reached
• The spouse receiving support remarries
• The spouse receiving support cohabitates with another adult, as defined by the statute
• Either spouse dies

Other events can change how long support lasts or how much is paid. Retirement or a significant change in employment may justify a modification. Whether children of the marriage need a full-time parent at home can affect duration. And when maintenance is reviewable, a judge can decline to extend it if the recipient hasn't made a sufficient effort to become self-supporting.

We'd be happy to discuss your specific situation and explain how maintenance may work in your divorce or legal separation.

Calculating Spousal Support in Illinois

If maintenance is appropriate, Illinois law provides a formula for the amount. Take 33.33% of the payor's net annual income, subtract 25% of the recipient's net annual income, and divide the result by 12 to get the monthly payment:

There is a ceiling, too: maintenance plus the recipient's net income cannot exceed 40% of the couple's combined net income.

The formula applies to couples with a combined annual gross income under $500,000, where the payor isn't also supporting a prior spouse or child from another relationship. Depending on the circumstances, the court may deviate from the formula as long as it explains why. For couples earning more than $500,000 combined, the court may order a reasonable amount based on a full review of the couple's circumstances.

The real financial picture is often more complex than pay stubs and tax returns suggest, especially in the Domestic Relations Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County and in nearby DuPage and Lake County courts. We frequently work with financial professionals to uncover income from bonuses, deferred compensation, or closely held companies so the court sees each spouse's full resources.

How Long Do You Have to Be Married to Get Alimony, and How Long Does It Last?

In most cases, how long alimony is paid depends on how long the marriage lasted. For marriages under five years, maintenance typically lasts about a year or less, and for very short marriages the court may not order it at all. At five years, the factor is 24% of the length of the marriage, and it rises by 4 percentage points for each additional year (28% at six years, 32% at seven, and so on).

Every marriage is different, so treat these numbers as a general guide. Once a marriage reaches 20 years, the court may order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage or for an indefinite term. Because the court can weigh other factors, it's still best to talk with a seasoned divorce attorney like Weiss-Kunz & Oliver about how the guidelines apply to you.

What If Spouses Can't Agree on Alimony?

If a couple can't reach an agreement on their own, an Illinois family court will set a fair maintenance amount with the help of each side's spousal support attorney. The court first decides whether maintenance is appropriate at all. To do that, it looks at the length of the marriage, each party's health, and each party's access to assets and independent income.

The logic behind these laws is to keep either spouse from suffering unnecessary financial hardship because of the divorce and, where possible, to let both continue to enjoy a standard of living similar to the one they had during the marriage.