Spousal Support in Illinois

It is very rare in divorce proceedings that both parties have the capacity for equal finances after the divorce. One party is almost always going to have the ability to earn more money than the other party. The courts address this through a distribution of assets of the marital property or by awarding spousal support. Most people traditionally refer to this as “alimony”. Alimony is the age old traditional term for spousal support that really is not in use anymore. Nowadays, Illinois courts use the term “maintenance”.

What is Spousal Maintenance?

Spousal maintenance awards can be either temporary or permanent. Temporary awards are ordered by the court to preserve the status quo of the parties’ finances while the divorce is proceeding through the courts. Permanent awards are typically what the parties agree to in the marital settlement agreement at the conclusion of the divorce proceedings, which will govern the future finances of each party once the divorce is final.

Maintenance can be waived, but only upon a showing that the party waiving it is doing so freely and voluntarily. However it is most important to note that once maintenance is waived, it is forever waived. The party that waives it cannot not go back and change their mind and ask the court to award it at a later date.

Maintenance is calculated by looking at several different factors viewed by the court as a whole. No one factor is the sole determining factor that triggers the court to award maintenance. Typically the court considers the earning power of each party, the lifestyle during the marriage, the education level of each party, and if either party forsaken educational opportunities to support the family while the spouse has sought more schooling.

If you are contemplating divorce, you should consult an attorney to discuss your options and how to best protect yourself and your rights going forward.

Top 5 Illinois Family Law Terms

1. “GAL” – Guardian Ad Litem. This term refers to a court appointed attorney. This is a third attorney appointed by the Judge who represents the interests of the children in the divorce. This attorney is separate and independent of any attorney either of the parents have on retainer.
2. “MSA”- Marital Settlement Agreement. This is a legal document that sets out the agreed upon terms of a divorce. It is a legally binding contract that governs all the issues that affect the parties after the divorce such as marital property, child support, custody, etc.
3. “JPA”- Joint Parenting Agreement. This is the written agreement that deals with the interests of the children. It is often included as a separate agreement that is adopted and incorporated as part of the MSA. It governs everything related to the children: who gains custody, when is visitation, how much is child support, who gets the kids for what holidays, etc.
4. “Maintenance.” The legally correct term for “alimony” in Illinois. This is the amount of money that one party pays to the other party to support them after the divorce. In Illinois the party that typically earns the higher income is the party that pays “maintenance” to the other party. Regardless of whether that party is the husband or wife. There is no hard and fast rule on what amount of maintenance the courts may award a party. Rather the courts look at the levels of income, the Parties’ standard of living, all of the marital assets, and then determine it on a case by case basis.
5. “Residential Custody.” This term relates to the parent with whom the children reside. The other parent still has “custody” over the children in that they still have a say in how to raise the children, and visitation rights. But the parent with residential custody is the parent with whom the child lives on a general day-today basis.