Arlington Heights, IL Spousal Support Attorneys

Knowledgeable Lawyers for Alimony and Spousal Maintenance in Arlington Heights, Illinois

If your marriage appears to be headed toward divorce, you will have a wide variety of concerns that you will need to address. In addition to resolving the legal issues involved in dissolving your marriage, you will need to be sure that you will have the financial resources to meet your needs. One issue that can affect your finances during and after your divorce is spousal maintenance, which is also known as alimony.

If you expect to receive spousal maintenance, or if your ex-spouse is asking for alimony, an experienced attorney can help ensure that issues related to support obligations will be handled correctly. At A. Traub & Associates, our family law attorneys can provide the representation you need, advocating for your best interests throughout the divorce process and helping you achieve an outcome that will meet your needs.

When Is Spousal Maintenance Appropriate?

Following divorce, both spouses should be able to maintain the same standard of living as they enjoyed while they were married. In some cases, one spouse may have been the primary income earner, and the other may have remained in the home to care for children or perform other family responsibilities. When a person who earns significantly less than their former spouse believes that they will be unable to continue living at their accustomed standard, they may request spousal support payments to provide for their needs.

While a couple may be able to reach an agreement about spousal maintenance through mediation, the decision about whether to award maintenance is often left up to the judge in their divorce case. Illinois law specifies a number of factors that a judge should consider when making this determination. These factors include:

• The income each spouse earns and their realistic earning capacity. If one spouse earns a higher income, the other spouse may be awarded maintenance.
• Each spouse's property, financial obligations, and ongoing needs. The distribution of marital property may play into decisions about alimony, and the value of each spouse's non-marital property may also be considered.
• Impairment to the receiving spouse's earning capacity due to the time they have devoted to domestic duties while married or because they chose not to pursue education or career opportunities. If a spouse has been unemployed for several years, the judge may consider whether they would need to receive education or training in order to be able to support themselves financially.
• Whether decisions about the allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time will affect either spouse's ability to earn an income or maintain employment. A person who was a stay-at-home parent while married may be eligible to receive spousal support that will allow them to continue caring for their children in this manner after the couple's divorce.
• Whether the receiving spouse made contributions to their former partner's education or career. If a person helped pay for their ex-spouse's college education or took care of household duties to allow their former partner to pursue career opportunities, they may be eligible to receive maintenance.
• Agreements the spouses made with each other, such as a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

How Is Alimony Calculated in Illinois?

If maintenance is awarded, a statutory formula is used to calculate the amount of the support payments. To calculate maintenance, 25% of the receiving spouse's net annual income is subtracted from 33 1/3% of the paying spouse's net annual income. When the receiving spouse's income is added to the maintenance payments, the total, cannot be larger than 40% of the combined net income of the spouses.

Spousal maintenance will be paid for a certain amount of time, and this duration will be a percentage of the total length of the marriage. For marriages of less than five years, maintenance will be paid for 20% of amount of time the couple was married. The percentage increases by 4% for each year after that, up to 80% for marriages of 19 years. For marriages of at least 20 years, an ex-spouse may receive maintenance for 100% of the time they were married or for an indefinite period.

Contact Our Arlington Heights, IL Spousal Support Lawyers

If spousal maintenance will be necessary to help you avoid financial difficulties, or if your ex is asking you to make alimony payments, it is important to have a legal advocate on your side to ensure that all relevant factors are considered when addressing this issue. At A. Traub & Associates, we will provide the representation you need, ensuring that you will be prepared for financial success following your divorce. Contact our office today at 847-749-4182 to arrange a confidential consultation.