Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

The history of alimony as a legal concept dates back centuries and has evolved greatly into its contemporary application. In modern day Illinois, alimony payments are determined by several differing factors. Therefore hiring a family law attorney to assist with these matters is essential to achieving the best possible outcomes.

Alimony in Illinois is often referred to as maintenance, as opposed to the term “spousal support” which is favored in many other states. The definition of maintenance in Illinois family law is very literal and is intended to do exactly what the name suggests. Although there are a few different types of maintenance, the intention in Illinois is to ensure both parties “achieve a lifestyle comparable to that during marriage.”

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

Alimony, or spousal maintenance as it is called in Illinois, is monetary support paid one spouse by the other, to maintain roughly the same standard of living enjoyed during the marriage, after divorce. The court will rule in favor of maintenance in Illinois, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), depending on, among other things: the length of the marriage, disparity in earnings of the two partners, whether there are children, and if so, who will be the primary caretaker, and whether one spouse “has given up career opportunities due to the marriage.”  Maintenance will not necessarily ensure that both partners can enjoy the same standard of living after the marriage, because living separately is, in most cases, significantly more expensive than living together.

Maintenance will be paid until the court decides it can be terminated. One major reason that an order for maintenance will terminate is if the party receiving the payments moves in with someone else. According to the AAML, the ex-spouse must be living with someone else on what is determined to be a “resident, continuing, conjugal basis.” This type of cohabitation, in regards to spousal maintenance, is currently a challenging aspect of family law, according to a recent report. The court must determine that the person receiving maintenance is in a “supportive relationship,” which can be tricky to legally prove.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

As more women tend to work outside the home and lead independent lives outside of their husbands, the issue and necessity of alimony — or spousal support — has come into question in recent years. Many states have recently passed alimony reform laws; some abolish the practice of lifetime alimony payments, others make it more difficult for ex-spouses to prove the need for financial support. In Illinois, for example, ended lifetime alimony and passed legislation that ends alimony payments when the ex-spouse receiving alimony begins to cohabitate with a new partner. Other states, Massachusetts for example, caps the number of years or months during which alimony should be paid based on the duration of the marriage. According to Forbes, this is dangerous water to tread for many women facing divorce.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

On Jan. 1, 2015, Illinois legislators passed new laws that govern the duration and amount of alimony payments. Many of the regulations apply to divorcing couples with a gross income of $250,000.

According to the revised law, “maintenance” is the new term for “alimony” in Illinois, but they both refer to spousal support. A judge determines whether to award maintenance based on 12 statutory factors.

Before January 2015, the calculation and duration were at the sole discretion of the judge. This led to noticeable variations from county to county, and from judge to judge. The legislation aimed to create uniformity in spousal support awards. The laws put the following formulas and guidelines into effect:

Formula for Calculating Alimony

Thirty percent of the payer’s gross income less 20 percent of the receiver’s income. The adjusted income of the receiver may not exceed 40 percent of the combined income of both parties.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

With relatively significant changes regarding divorce and child custody going into effect this month, some of the smaller updates to the law may be going somewhat unnoticed. While some, such as new requirements for courts to enter the judgment within 60 days of the close of proofs, will have more of a procedural impact than substantive, others, such as those regarding spousal maintenance, can have an effect not only on the immediate order but on the potential for modification in the future.

Spousal Maintenance

In the state of Illinois, there is no presumed right to spousal maintenance in a divorce. Of course, a couple may negotiate a conscionable agreement regarding spousal support, and in such cases, the court will enter the agreement as an enforceable order. Absent an agreement, however, the court must examine the circumstances of the marriage and divorce in deciding whether or not such an award is appropriate. The court must take into account, among other factors:

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

If you are considering divorce, you may already be aware that spousal maintenance, or alimony, is not a guaranteed right for either spouse. Based on the circumstances of your marriage—and especially if you earn significantly more than your spouse, and he or she has been financially dependent on you—you may expect to be ordered to pay spousal support. You may even be quite willing to make maintenance payments as, even though you no longer wish to remain married, you do not need to see your soon-to-be ex-spouse suffer, particularly if the two of you have children together. While you may be expecting to pay alimony, it is often helpful to get an idea of just how much those payments will be and for how long.

Payment Amounts

Assuming the court agrees that spousal maintenance is needed based on the consideration of a number of factors, the law provides a method for calculating spousal support payments. The most common way is through a statutory formula intended to be used in the vast majority of cases in which the couple’s combined income is less than $250,000, and the paying spouse is not supporting children from a previous relationship or another former spouse. In such a case, the amount to be paid is found by taking 30 percent of the payor’s gross income and subtracting 20 percent of the recipient’s gross income. The amount paid as maintenance plus the recipient’s income may not exceed 40 percent of the couple’s combined income.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

When you are required to pay alimony—also known as spousal maintenance under Illinois law—your payments are intended to help your former spouse alleviate some of the financial impact of the divorce. To a certain extent, maintenance is also used to help an economically disadvantaged spouse retain a semblance of the lifestyle the two of you enjoyed during your marriage. But, what happens when your spouse meets someone new? Could his or her new relationship affect your requirements for continuing spousal support payments?

An order for spousal maintenance is typically set for a specific number of months or years. Alternatively, the payments may be ordered to continue on a permanent basis. “Permanent,” however, only means that there is no date set on which the order will be terminated. It does mean that the payments will continue forever no matter what. There are certain factors or occurrences that could allow you to stop paying maintenance to your ex-spouse despite a permanent award.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

If nostalgic television programs are to be believed, the “model” American family looked very different several decades ago as compared to today. In many cases, one spouse—usually the husband—was the sole wage-earner while the other spouse—usually the wife—stayed home to manage the household and the children. While this scenario was not the reality in every family, it was common enough that if a marriage ended in divorce, most people presumed that the husband would be required to pay alimony to his wife so that she could continue meeting her day-to-day needs as well as those of the children.

Over the last few decades, there has been a dramatic shift in the family unit. Today, very few families can afford to survive on a single income, and the roles of each spouse may be defined to meet the particular family’s needs rather that adhering to strict social expectations. Such changes have also been reflected in Illinois laws regarding divorce, with a focus on making the process as equitable as possible. For this reason, alimony—also known as maintenance—is not guaranteed in a divorce proceeding, and will not be awarded unless the court determines that an actual need exists.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

In a recent post on this blog, we discussed the criteria used by Illinois courts to determine whether spousal maintenance was appropriate following a divorce. The law requires a court to look at various factors relevant to the marriage and each spouse’s financial situation to ensure that a need for spousal support actually exists. If maintenance is found to be appropriate, the court must then calculate how much is to be paid and for how long. Illinois law also provides guidance regarding these considerations as well.

Maintenance Amounts

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) provides a specific formula to be used in situations where the couple’s combined income is less than $250,000 per year and the paying party has no other obligations for maintenance or child support from a previous relationship. In such a case, the amount of support to be paid is found by taking 30 percent of the paying spouse’s gross income and subtracting 20 percent of the receiving spouse’s net income. The difference will be the amount expected to be paid unless that amount plus the recipient’s income equals more than 40 percent of the couple’s combined income.

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 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Spousal Support

Life is full of changes. New houses, new jobs, new children, new expenses and the list goes on. Even after a divorce is finalized changes occur for both former spouses, and those changes may allow one or the other to seek an alimony modification.

Yes, you read that right. An alimony modification may be made if either party experiences a change in circumstances that impact either the amount needed or amount available to be paid. A knowledgeable alimony modification attorney can help either the payor or payee seek the relief that allows each to continue managing their incomes and expenses.

Reasons to Seek an Alimony Modification

Sometimes the spouses can come to an agreement for support modification on their own, but any oral agreement is difficult to enforce should one party decide they no longer wish to honor it. With the assistance of an experienced alimony modification attorney, there are several options to consider when seeking a change in the amount of alimony paid.

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