Kendall County Alimony Lawyer

Spousal Maintenance or Spousal Support in Illinois

Maintenance, alimony and spousal support are all one and the same, depending on what statute or code you are referring to. Most laypeople call it alimony.

Unlike child support, there are no hard and fast rules when maintenance will be awarded. You need to speak with an experienced attorney and/or obtain a second opinion on your potential right to receive or duty to pay maintenance. As with most issues in a divorce, cases can differ wildly in determining whether maintenance should be paid, the amount that should be paid, and the duration it should be paid for.

In some cases, maintenance is not even sought. In some, it is sought but not awarded. In a short-term marriage in which the earnings of both parties are substantially the same, it is doubtful maintenance would be awarded. In these cases, each party is "made whole" by an equitable division of marital assets. Conversely, if there was a long-term marriage with few assets, and there is a substantial difference between the spouses' incomes (or potential for income), maintenance is probably appropriate.

If maintenance is awarded, formulas defined in Illinois law will be used to calculate the amount of the payments and the duration they will last. Maintenance is not tax-deductible for the obligor (the person who pays), and it is not taxable to the obligee (the person who receives). There are a variety of reasons that maintenance would be terminated by operation of law, ie. the death of either party or the remarriage or cohabitation with another adult by the obligee. In other situations, spousal support may be terminated by its own terms, i.e. after a specified period of time or once a certain amount has been paid.

The obligee generally has a duty to rehabilitate himself or herself into the workplace to become self-supportive, unless this is unrealistic because of age, health, or some other legitimate reason, in which case maintenance may be permanent. Sometimes, in lieu of maintenance, a disproportionately favorable award (more than 50%) of the marital assets is awarded to the lesser-earning spouse.

Decisions about whether to award maintenance are very fact-specific. If you expect to receive or pay maintenance in your divorce, you should be sure all relevant factors are considered when determining the amount and duration of spousal support. This issue is one of the topics you should discuss during your initial divorce lawyer consultation. Call 630-409-8184 or contact the Law Office of Matthew M. Williams, P.C. to schedule your consultation today.