The term “alimony” is no longer used in the
Illinois court system.
Rather, the term “spousal maintenance” is used to describe support payments from one person to that person’s former spouse during and/or after a
divorce or
legal separation.
Illinois spousal maintenance can be either
temporary or
permanent ...............
Temporary spousal maintenance is support during a limited time period or for a particular purpose
(e.g., the obtainment of education or training, etc.) ...............
Permanent spousal maintenance is support for the lifetime of the recipient or until a significant event happens
(e.g., re-marriage, recovery from a disability, etc.).
Permanent spousal maintenance is
rarely awarded by
Illinois divorce courts.
Illinois divorce law statutes address the issue of spousal maintenance.
Illinois divorce statute 750 ILCS 5/504 lists
12 factors that
Illinois divorce court
judges must consider before awarding or denying
Illinois spousal maintenance. Those
12 factors are ...............
1. income and property of each party;
2. needs of each party;
3. present and future earning capacity of each party;
4. any impairment to earning capacity;
5. time needed to get appropriate training and education for employment;
6. standard of living during the marriage;
7. duration of the marriage;
8. age and physical and emotional health of each party;
9. tax consequences;
1
0. contributions and services by each party to the other’s professional license, education, or training during the marriage;
11. agreements between the parties; and
12. any other fact that the court finds to be just and equitable.
Illinois divorce courts look at
spousal maintenance as a
tool for “rehabilitation” of one of the parties to an
Illinois divorce...............
For example, an Illinois divorce court judge might award
temporary maintenance to one of the parties to allow that party to obtain sufficient education and/or training that will lead to economic self-sufficiency.
It is possible that an Illinois divorce court judge may later modify an earlier order for
spousal maintenance.
Illinois divorce statute 750 ILCS 5/510 requires
Illinois divorce court
judges to consider the following factors to determine whether
Illinois spousal maintenance
should be modified ...............
1. good faith changes in employment
(e.g., cannot quit your job to avoid payments);
2. the spouse receiving maintenance had made reasonable efforts to become economically self-sufficient;
3. there is a real impairment in the present and future capacity of the spouse receiving maintenance;
4. the tax consequences of
spousal maintenance;
5. how long
spousal maintenance has been paid compared to how long the marriage was;
6. the property awarded to the spouse in the
divorce;
7. the changes in both spouses’ incomes since the
divorce;
8. the property acquired since the
divorce; and
9. any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable.
One reason why Atty. Patrick Sylvester is a
skillful Chicago, Illinois divorce lawyer is that he is very knowledgeable about money, the time value of money, investments, pensions, retirement accounts, taxes and estate law. The
north suburban Chicago divorce attorney of
Sylvester Law Firm uses that important knowledge to skillfully protect his
Chicago divorce clients’ financial interests.
You are invited to call us at (847) 251 – 2999
to get answers to your important questions related to Illinois alimony (spousal maintenance).