- Free Consultation: 630-481-6633 Tap Here to Call Us
What Is Spousal Maintenance?
What Is Spousal Maintenance?
During a divorce proceeding, a judge may order one spouse to pay another spouse money to help support them. This is referred to as “spousal maintenance” or “alimony.” However, a judge is not required to order spousal maintenance.
How Does a Spouse Get Maintenance?
When deciding whether or not to order a spouse to pay spousal maintenance, a judge will consider several things:
- Income and property of each spouse, including marital and non-marital property
- Each spouse’s needs
- Each spouse’s current and future earning capacity
- Time spent doing household and child-care duties
- Time and money needed to get a job, education, or necessary training
- Sources of public and private income
- Length of marriage
- Lifestyle during the marriage
- The child custody arrangement
- Any other agreement the spouses created
It is important to note that a judge will not require a spouse to pay maintenance based on infidelity, or how else they treated a spouse during marriage.
How Is Maintenance Calculated?
When determining how much maintenance a spouse must pay, judge’s use a formula that takes into account both spouse’s net yearly income and deduct other support obligations, including child support payments.
Spousal support cannot cause one spouse to earn more than 40% of the spouse’s combined income. There are other limitations to this calculation if one spouse is paying child support and/or maintenance from a previous marriage.
How Long Will a Spouse Receive Maintenance?
How long a spouse is entitled to maintenance depends on the length of the marriage. The duration of maintenance will be determined by the length of the marriage at the time the action commenced multiplied by a certain figure, as provided below.
- Marriage less than 5 years = Length of marriage X 0.20
- Marriage 5 years or more but less than 6 years = Length of Marriage X .24
- Marriage 6 years or more but less than 7 years = Length of Marriage X .28
- Marriage 7 years or more but less than 8 years = Length of Marriage X .32
- Marriage 8 years or more but less than 9 years = Length of Marriage X .36
- Marriage 9 years or more but less than 10 years = Length of Marriage X .40
- Marriage 10 years or more but less than 11 years = Length of Marriage X .44
- Marriage 11 years or more but less than 12 years = Length of Marriage X .48
- Marriage 12 years or more but less than 13 years = Length of Marriage X .52
- Marriage 13 years or more but less than 14 years = Length of Marriage X .56
- Marriage 14 years or more but less than 15 years = Length of Marriage X .60
- Marriage 15 years or more but less than 16 years = Length of Marriage X .64
- Marriage 16 years or more but less than 17 years = Length of Marriage X .68
- Marriage 17 years or more but less than 18 years = Length of Marriage X .72
- Marriage 18 years or more but less than 19 years = Length of Marriage X .76
- Marriage 19 years or more but less than 20 years = Length of Marriage X .80
- For a marriage of 20 or more years, the court, in its discretion, shall order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage or for an indefinite term.
Getting a divorce can be a huge financial burden, especially if one spouse had been supporting the other throughout a marriage. If you are entitled to maintenance, or if you are worried you might need to pay maintenance, the attorneys at Lafata Law can help. To schedule a consultation, call our office at 630-481-6633.
Visit Us
Proudly serving the following Illinois Counties: DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Cook and Will. Conveniently located near the DuPage County Courthouse. If you would like to visit us at our office, we are open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. by appointment.