Alimony or Maintenance is generally awarded to spouses who are a part of a long term marriage, who perhaps were unable to work for health reasons and who were married to spouses who could afford to meet their reasonable needs. Courts have maintained their efforts to provide reasonable subsidy to the lesser earning spouse.

Alimony or Maintenance awards are based upon the following:

1. Income and property of each party
2. Needs of each party
3. Present and future earnings of each party; including any impairment of this earning capacity due to the party devoting time to domestic duties, having forgone or delayed education,
   training, employment or career opportunities; including time needed to cure such impairment
4. Standard of living established during the marriage
5. The duration of the marriage
6. Age, physical and emotional condition of both parties
7. Tax consequences of the property division of the parties
8. Contributions and sources by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential or license of the other spouse
9. Any valid agreement of the parties
10. Any other factors that the courts find just and equitable

Award Modifications

The Court uses six factors in determining if an award should be modified, reviewed or terminated. These six factors are as follows:

1. Changes in employment status of either party
2. Efforts made by the party receiving maintenance to become self-supporting
3. Any impairment of the present and future earning capacity of either party
4. Tax consequences
5. Duration of maintenance payments previously paid (and remaining to be paid) relative to the length of the marriage
6. Property, including retirement benefits, awarded to each party under judgment of dissolution of marriage, judgment of legal separation or judgment of declaration of invalidity of marriage

Marital vs. Non-Marital Property

“Marital” property and marital obligations (debt) are divided by the Court and distributed to the spouses
in percentages that the Court considers fair. Marital misconduct is not a factor for property distribution. The court looks at several factors such as the

“Non-Marital” property is not divided but is awarded to the spouse that owns the property.

If a husband or wife inherits or is gifted any property during a marriage, that property is non-marital property, and will remain the sole property of the spouse receiving any such inheritance or gift. However, if the inheritance or gift is placed in co-ownership with the other spouse, then the inheritance or gift is considered a gift to the marriage, therefore, changing from non-marital to marital asset.

The divorce lawyers at the Chicago Divorce Network. understand that one of the most crucial elements of divorce is to set aside the differences of the parties and to focus on the best interests of the child. Custody plays an important role. In Illinois, there are two main types of custody, Sole custody and Joint custody. Joint custody provides the maximum involvement by both parents in the lives of their children. Sole custody allows one parent total physical custody of the child, while the other parent receives visitation rights. In granting custody, the court’s main focus is to determine the best interest of the children. The court considers things such as the willingness and ability of each party to place the needs of the child ahead of their own, and whether the past history of involvement of the parties with the child reflects a system of values, time commitment and mutual support.

Child Support

Illinois Courts determine child support payments by using a percentage formula:

Net income is defined as total income from all sources minus the following deductions:

1. Federal and State Income tax property calculated
2. Social Security payments
3. Union dues
4. Mandatory retirement contributions required by law or as a condition of employment
5. Dependent and individual health/hospitalization insurance premiums
6. Prior obligations of support or maintenance actually paid pursuant to a Court order
7. Expenditures for repayment of debts that represent reasonable and necessary expenses for the production of income, medical expenditures necessary to preserve life or health, reasonable expenditures for the benefit of the child and the other parent and exclusive gifts.