How Does Losing Your Job Affect Your Divorce?

 Posted on January 30, 2025 in Divorce

Suppose you are in the middle of a divorce from your spouse – an already stressful situation – and you lose your job. Suddenly, your stressful situation just became more complex and anxiety-inducing. You will certainly wonder how the loss of your job will affect the issues being decided during your divorce, including marital asset division, spousal maintenance, and the allocation of parental responsibilities.

You will need to immediately inform your divorce attorney and your spouse about the loss of your job. The circumstances around the loss of your job will have an impact on how it affects your divorce issues. An experienced Wheaton, IL family law attorney can help you determine how your job loss will affect your divorce and what steps you need to take to minimize any adverse effects.

Why Do the Circumstances Surrounding Your Job Loss Matter?

If you were fired, this generally means that you were at fault for the loss of the job, while being laid off means you were let go through no fault of your own. Layoffs are usually the result of downsizing or other changes within the company. Being furloughed means you are still employed by the company but are not working or receiving a paycheck. Furloughs are typically a temporary restructuring, while a layoff involves permanent termination.

The manner in which you lost your job will determine how the court views the loss. If you were laid off, the court may not hold you to the income level you were making at your job. If the court finds out you were fired for cause (like misconduct), the court may be less forgiving and may require you to maintain the same level of financial responsibility you had at your recent job.

What Effect Could Your Job Loss Have on Spousal Maintenance?

If you are the person responsible for paying spousal maintenance, you may not have to pay this support until you are employed again – but you may have to pay a higher percentage of your salary once you are employed. If you are the spouse seeking maintenance, you may be able to ask for more maintenance, at least temporarily.

This does not mean you can forego becoming re-employed, only that your spouse may temporarily owe more maintenance until you have another job. The court can look into your job search during and after your divorce and may even ask for documentation to prove you are looking. The court will also expect you to find a job that is similar in salary to your last one.  

What Effect Could the Loss of Your Job Have on Child Support?

Losing a job after your divorce when you are the person paying child support would require a modification motion – which requires a substantial change in circumstances. If you lose your job during the divorce, and you are the parent who will pay child support, you can bet the court is going to look long and hard at you to determine whether the job loss was a means of avoiding child support.

Courts will not look favorably on this type of situation. The court may "impute" an income for you based on what you were paid for your last job when determining the amount of child support you are responsible for paying. If this is the case, you will need to get another job quickly, with pay that is similar to your last job. If your job loss was not your fault, the court may give you a certain amount of time to find a job and then could require you to make larger child support payments to make up for the time you were unable to pay.

Contact a DuPage County, IL Divorce Lawyer

If you wonder how the loss of your job will affect your divorce, it is important to speak to a knowledgeable Wheaton, IL divorce attorney from Davi Law Group. We will help explain your situation to the judge in the most favorable way. Call 630-657-5052 today to schedule your free consultation.