Aurora Maintenance Lawyer

Maintenance, formerly known as Alimony, is support for one of the parties separate from child support. Maintenance is generally paid to a spouse who does not earn as much income as the other spouse and the parties have been married for a substantial period of time. Typically the longer the marriage the longer a court will order maintenance payments to continue.

Some Illinois Courts have ruled that people who are married for over twenty years are sometimes eligible for permanent maintenance. The amount of maintenance is not set as a percentage of income as child support is, instead, the relative financial positions of the parties and the lifestyle that the parties have enjoyed during the marriage are used to determine the amount of maintenance that should be paid.

I have represented people who are trying to obtain maintenance and those who are trying to keep from paying maintenance. On many occasions I have represented people who are having the Court review the current maintenance in place to decide if it should continue. Maintenance can many times amount to a larger dollar figure than the value of the assets that are divided so competent legal representation is a must.

For more information regarding maintenance, contact a Maintenance Lawyer in Aurora from the Law Offices of Ned C. Khan today at 630-820-3203 for a free consultation.

In some divorce cases you or your spouse may be entitled to receive maintenance or spousal support from the other party.  Maintenance was formerly called alimony.  In January of 2015 the Illinois legislature enacted a new law regarding maintenance, 750 ilcs 5/504.  According to this new law the court must first determine whether a maintenance award is appropriate after consideration of all relevant factors including:

1) The income and property of each party, including marital property apportioned and non-marital property assigned to the party seeking maintenance;

2) The needs of each party;

3) The present and future earning capacity of each party;

4) Any impairment of the present and future earning capacity of the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to domestic duties or having foregone or delayed education, training and employment or career opportunities due to the marriage;

5) The time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training and employment, and whether that party is able to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or i the custodian of a child making it appropriate that the custodian not seek employment;

6) The standard of living established during the marriage;

7) The duration of the marriage;

8) The age and physical and emotional condition of both parties;

9) The tax consequences of the property division upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties;

10) Contributions and services by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse;

11) Any valid agreement of the parties;

12) Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable.

If the court determines that a maintenance award is appropriate, the court shall order maintenance as follows:

In cases where the parties combined gross income is less than $250,000.00 annually the court shall use the following formula to calculate maintenance.

The gross income of the payer multiplied by 30%  minus the gross income of the payee multiplied by 20%.  This is the maintenance amount.

However this maintenance amount when added to the payee’s gross income cannot result in the payee receiving in excess of 40% of the parties combined gross income.  Any amount over this 40% threshold will not be awarded as maintenance.

Example:  payer makes $100,000.00 gross, payee makes $60,000.00 gross.

$100,000 x .3 = $30,000.00

Minus $60,000.00 x .20 = $12,000.00

Equals $18,000.00 maintenance a year. However this award must be reduced because:
40% of $160,000.00 (parties combined gross income) = $64,000.00

Payee’s income of $60,000.00 + $12,000.00 = $72,000.00.  Maintenance must be reduced to $4,000.00 annually so that it is not over $64,000.00. ($60,000.00 income + $4,000.00 maintenance)

How long does maintenance last?

In cases where the parties make less than $250,000.00 combined annually the duration of maintenance shall be calculated by multiplying the length of the marriage by the following factors:

0-5 years (20%)

5-10 years (40%)

10-15 years (60%)

15-20 years (80%)

20 years or more-either permanent maintenance or maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage.  This means if you were married for 24 years you could receive permanent maintenance or maintenance for 24 years.

Cases where the parties earn combined more than $250,000.00 annually.  Maintenance is set at the court’s discretion based upon the 12 factors listed above.

If you have questions about whether maintenance may be an issue in your case please call the law office of Ned c. Khan at 630-820-3203 for a free consultation.

In 2015 the Illinois legislature modified the laws concerning Maintenance in 750 ILCS 5/504. In determining maintenance first a court must decide that maintenance is appropriate depending on the 12 different circumstances including but not limited to the financial circumstances of the parties, the length of the marriage, the standard of living of the parties and the needs of the parties.  If the court believes maintenance is appropriate there are now guideline amounts.  Guideline maintenance amounts (for parties with combined income of less than $250,000) are calculated by multiplying the higher paid spouse’s gross income by 30% then reducing that figure by multiplying the lesser paid spouse’s gross income by 20%.   However this amount  plus the lesser paid spouse’s gross income cannot be greater than 40% of the parties’ total gross income.  For parties who earn close to the same amount this 40% cap rule generally will mean that neither party will be allowed maintenance.

Many people ask how long will I have to pay maintenance for?  The answer is again spelled out in 750 ILCS 5/504.  The duration of a maintenance award shall be calculated by multiplying the length of the marriage by the following multipliers: 0-5 years (.20), 5-10 years (.40); 10-15 years (.60); 15-20 years (.80).  For a marriage of 20 years or more, the court in its discretion can order permanent maintenance or maintenance equal to the length of the marriage.