Divorce

The judge will determine if a person is eligible to get alimony, or maintenance as it is called in Illinois, based on a series of factors.

A request for temporary maintenance and child support will be dealt with fairly quickly (on a “summary basis”) and the judge’s decision will be based on allocated parenting time, financial affidavits, tax returns, pay stubs, banking statements, and other relevant documentation.¹

For a final maintenance order, there will usually be a more extensive hearing. The judge will consider the following factors:

• the income and the property of each party, including both the property each spouse owns together and individually;
• all financial obligations put on each party due to the divorce;
• the needs of each party;
• the realistic present and future earning capacity of each party;
• any damage (impairment) to the earning capacity of the spouse requesting maintenance that may have happened due to:
  
  • delaying or giving up his/her education, training, or employment due to the marriage; or
  • devoting time to domestic duties; for example, if you gave up going to school in order to take care of your children, that would be considered;
• any damage (impairment) to the earning capacity of the spouse who would be paying maintenance;
• the time needed for the person requesting maintenance to get the necessary education, training and employment, while considering any parental responsibility that may have an effect on that time;
• the standard of living established during the marriage;
• the length of the marriage;
• the age, health, place in life (station), occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities, and the needs of each of the parties;
• all sources of income including disability and retirement income;
• any tax issues that may arise in dividing up property;
• contributions and services the person seeking maintenance may have contributed to the other spouse to his/her education, training, career, or license;
• any agreements between you and your spouse; and
• any other factor the judge may find fair to consider.²

If the judge finds that one of the spouses is entitled to maintenance, s/he will calculate how much should be paid and for how long based on a formula set by state law.³ Upon review, the judge can also extend or terminate maintenance. For more information on this formula, you can view the statute on our Selected Illinois Statutes page.

¹ 750 ILCS 5/501(a)
² 750 ILCS 5/504(a)
³ 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)