Arlington Heights Spousal Maintenance Attorney

Lawyer for Alimony and Spousal Support in Rolling Meadows and Palatine

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 have a big impact on your finances is spousal maintenance, or alimony.

If you expect to receive spousal maintenance, or if your ex-spouse is asking for alimony, it is essential to work with an experienced attorney to ensure that support obligations are determined correctly. At A. Traub & Associates, our family law attorneys can provide you with the representation you need, advocating for your best interests throughout the divorce process and help 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, with the other spouse remaining in the home to care for children or perform other family responsibilities. Since a person who earns significantly less then their former spouse will likely be unable to continue living at their accustomed standard, they may be able to receive 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, including:

• 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 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.
• Whether the spouse who would receive maintenance has experienced impairment to their earning capacity because they devoted time to domestic duties while married or chose not to pursue education or career opportunities. If a spouse has been unemployed for several years, the judge will also 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 divorce.
• Whether the spouse who is seeking alimony 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. Maintenance is calculated by subtracting 25% of the receiving spouse's net annual income from 33 1/3% of the paying spouse's net annual income. The sum of the receiving spouse's income and the maintenance payments 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 length of the couple's marriage. For marriages of less than five years, maintenance will be paid for 20% of the length of the marriage. 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, maintenance will be paid for the full length of the marriage, or for an indefinite period.

Contact a Mt. Prospect Spousal Support Lawyer

If you believe that you are eligible to receive spousal maintenance, 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 making these decisions. 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 schedule a confidential consultation. We represent divorcing spouses in Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Mount Prospect, Palatine, Schaumburg, Inverness, Elk Grove Village, Wheeling, Des Plaines, Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Hoffman Estates, and throughout Northwest Cook County.