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ALIMONY (MAINTENANCE): WHO, WHY, HOW MUCH, HOW LONG? |
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What is maintenance? |
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What is permanent maintenance? |
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Are all spouses entitled to maintenance? |
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Can husbands be awarded maintenance? |
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What factors does the court consider in determining whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance? |
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What is the most important factor in determining whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance? |
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How much maintenance will be awarded? |
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For how long does maintenance continue? |
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What happens if a spouse waives maintenance at the time they are divorced? |
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What are the income tax consequences of maintenance? |
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Can maintenance be modified (changed)? |
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| Q: |
What is maintenance? |
| A: |
Maintenance (alimony) is court ordered financial support that one spouse pays to the other in the event of a divorce. |
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| Q: |
What is permanent maintenance? |
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Permanent maintenance means there is no set time for the maintenance to end. Unless the parties otherwise agree, the maintenance will end when either spouse dies, the spouse receiving maintenance remarries, or the spouse receiving maintenance cohabits on a resident, continuing conjugal basis. |
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| Q: |
Are all spouses entitled to maintenance? |
| A:: |
No. A maintenance award is based on the needs of one spouse and the ability of the other spouse to pay. |
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| Q: |
Can husbands be awarded maintenance? |
| A: |
Yes. The Illinois maintenance statute is gender- neutral. Although in most cases the spouse awarded maintenance is the wife, husbands may also be awarded maintenance. |
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| Q: |
What factors does the court consider in determining whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance? |
| A: |
Specific factors include the duration of the marriage, the income and property of each party, age, physical and emotional problems and the standard of living established during the marriage. |
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| Q: |
What is the most important factor in determining whether a spouse qualifies for maintenance? |
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The duration of the marriage. While there are many factors, the duration of the marriage is the most significant one. The law does not have a formula for determining entitlement to maintenance. Appellate court cases show that in a marriage of less than ten years a maintenance award is unlikely unless the financially dependent spouse had a disabling physical or mental condition. Marriages of ten to fifteen years are in the gray area. Marriages above fifteen years or more have the highest percentages of maintenance awards. |
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| Q: |
How much maintenance will be awarded? |
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Appellate court cases and the maintenance statute speak of the economic lifestyle of the parties as being a very significant factor in determining the amount of maintenance awarded. While the lifestyle factor is important, and although maintenance awards vary, averaging out the maintenance awards as reported by the appellate courts, shows the following average patterns:
- Marriages of less than fifteen years: 15% of payor's net income
- Marriages of fifteen to twenty-four years: 20 % of payor's net income
- Marriages of more than twenty-five years: 25% of payor's net income
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| Q: |
For how long does maintenance continue? |
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For various periods of time: (a) A short period of time (for example two years) and then it terminates. (b) A short period of time (for example two or three years) and then to be reviewed at the end of that time period. (c) Permanent maintenance is reserved for cases where it is likely that the spouse will be permanently economically disadvantaged. |
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| Q: |
What happens if a spouse waives maintenance at the time they are divorced? |
| A: |
If a spouse agrees at the time the divorce is finalized to waive maintenance, that waiver is forever binding. The spouse waiving maintenance cannot later come back into court and be awarded maintenance. |
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| Q: |
What are the income tax consequences of maintenance? |
| A: |
The payment of maintenance is deductible by the party paying it and reportable by the party receiving it. |
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| Q: |
Can maintenance be modified (changed)? |
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Yes. A maintenance award can be adjusted up or down, or totally terminated upon a showing of a substantial change of circumstances, that is, a greater or lesser need for maintenance plus the ability of the paying spouse to pay or termination if there is no future need for maintenance. |
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