Will I Have to Pay Alimony?

 Posted on October 26, 2016 in Spousal Maintenance

If you are considering divorce, you may have concerns regarding whether or not you will have to pay alimony, also known as spousal support or maintenance. Spousal support is less common than it once was, but it is still ordered in some divorces.

Factors the Court Takes into Consideration

The court considers several factors when determining a spousal maintenance award. Maintenance calculations are separate from child support (for the most part) and are not influenced by any marital wrongdoing or fault. The factors the court will look at include the income and property of each spouse, the financial needs of the spouses, the length of the marriage, and the future and present earning capacity and job prospects of the spouses. Additionally, the court will look at whether the spouse requesting alimony contributed to the education or training of the other spouse, the health of the spouses, and any other considerations the court finds relevant.

The court can order temporary or permanent maintenance; however, the modern trend is to order temporary maintenance, if maintenance is awarded at all. This kind of temporary maintenance is often called rehabilitative maintenance—the purpose is for the lower earning spouse to use the income to help him or her become more employable and eventually self-sufficient.

Maintenance Calculator

In 2015 a new law was passed in Illinois that changed the way maintenance was calculated for couples whose combined income is $250,000 or less, and a judge determined that maintenance should be paid. The formula is as follows: Subtract 20 percent of the payee’s gross income from 30 percent of the payor’s gross income. However, the total amount of the payee’s gross income plus the prospective maintenance amount cannot be over 40 percent of the couple’s combined gross income.

For example, let us say a wife makes $80,000 a year and her husband makes $30,000 a year. Thirty percent of the payor’s (wife’s) income is $80,000 x .3 = $24,000, and 20 percent of the payee’s income is $30,000 x .2 = $6,000. Therefore, the amount of alimony would presumptively be $18,000 per year.

However, you also need to check to make sure that the amount is not over the limit. The combined gross income of the couple is $110,000 a year, and 40 percent of that is $44,000. Since the husband’s gross income, $30,000, plus the maintenance amount, $18,000, is $48,000, and that is more than the $44,000 limit, the maintenance amount must be reduced to $14,000 a year. This all seems complicated, but a skilled maintenance and alimony attorney can help.

Contact Us for Help Today

If you are considering divorce and have questions about alimony, you should speak with a knowledgeable DuPage County maintenance and alimony attorney at Davi Law Group, LLC who can help to advocate for your position in court. Contact us today. Call 630-657-5052.

Source:

https://iln.isba.org/blog/2014/08/18/spousal-maintenance-guidelines-become-law-illinois