Kane County Family Attorneys Offering Representation in Alimony Issues

Client-Centered Representation in Northern Illinois

Making the decision to file for divorce can be difficult, particularly if you have concerns about spousal maintenance. Spousal maintenance in Illinois, which is sometimes termed alimony or spousal support in other states, is governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/504). If you are seeking spousal maintenance or have concerns about how the court will make a decision about support, it is extremely important to have an experienced divorce attorney on your side.

At OSH Law, we understand that every divorce is complex and requires careful attention. Otto S. Hurtado is a dedicated family lawyer who is committed to assisting clients with all aspects of their divorce, including all issues surrounding spousal maintenance and support.

Illinois Law and Spousal Maintenance

According to Illinois law, when a couple seeks a divorce or a legal separation, the court “may grant a temporary or permanent maintenance award for either spouse.” In order to determine whether an award of spousal maintenance is appropriate, the court will take into account some of the following factors:

• Income and property of each party, including apportioned marital property as well as non-marital property;
• Needs of each party;
• Present and future earning capacity of each party;
• Length of time needed for the party seeking maintenance to require the necessary education or training;
• Standard of living established during the marriage;
• Duration of the marriage;
• Age, physical condition, and emotional condition of each party; and
• Contributions of the spouse seeking maintenance to the other spouse’s education, training, or career.

The court can take into account other factors in addition to those listed here. If you have questions about how a court decides whether to award spousal maintenance, you should be sure to speak with a divorce attorney.

Learning More About Spousal Maintenance Guidelines

Spousal maintenance amounts used to be more difficult to predict. Now, however, a new Illinois law provides guidelines for determining spousal maintenance for couples with a combined gross income of less than $250,000. The ISBA Family Law Section Council created the law, P.A. 98-0961. Given that the law is now in place, once a court determines that maintenance is appropriate, it will be easier for divorcing spouses to determine the amount of spousal maintenance awarded.

Here is how the guidelines determine an amount: spousal maintenance is equal to 30 percent of the payor’s gross income, minus 20 percent of the payee’s gross income. In practice, the guidelines work like this:

If a payor spouse has a gross income of $100,000 and the payee spouse has a gross income of $40,000, the court would take 30 percent of the payor’s income ($30,000) and subtract 20 percent of the payee’s gross income ($8,000), which would equal $22,000. As such, under the guidelines, the spousal maintenance award would be for $22,000.

Professional Representation for Your Spousal Maintenance Case

Although these guidelines are in place, judges are not absolutely bound by them. If you have questions or concerns about alimony in Illinois, you should contact OSH Law today at 331-248-8190 to learn more about how we can assist with your case. We serve clients in Geneva, St. Charles, Elburn, and throughout Kane County.