Alimony/Maintenance

How Illinois Determines Spousal Maintenance

Illinois law generally uses the term maintenance for what is often called alimony or spousal support. A maintenance issue may be resolved by agreement or decided by the court.

A court does not begin with a formula. It first decides whether maintenance is appropriate after considering the statutory factors, including the parties’ income and property, needs, present and future earning capacity, impairment of earning capacity, standard of living during the marriage, duration of the marriage, age and health, tax consequences, contributions to the other spouse’s career, and other relevant circumstances.

When the Illinois guideline formula applies

Under 750 ILCS 5/504, guideline maintenance generally applies when the parties’ combined gross annual income is less than $500,000 and the payor has no obligation to pay child support, maintenance, or both from a prior relationship, unless the court finds that applying the guidelines would be inappropriate.

• Guideline amount: 33 1/3% of the payor’s net annual income minus 25% of the payee’s net annual income.
• 40% cap: The maintenance amount, when added to the payee’s net income, cannot result in the payee receiving more than 40% of the parties’ combined net income.
• Combined support: If guideline maintenance together with child support would exceed 50% of the payor’s net income, the court may use non-guideline maintenance, non-guideline child support, or both.

There is an important exception for certain modifications of maintenance orders entered before January 1, 2019 that continue to receive the former federal tax treatment. In those cases, the statute preserves the older 30% of the payor’s gross income minus 20% of the payee’s gross income calculation unless the parties expressly provide otherwise in the modification order.

How long maintenance may last

For a marriage of less than 20 years, the guideline duration is calculated by multiplying the length of the marriage at the time the case was commenced by a statutory factor. The factor is .20 for marriages of less than 5 years. Beginning at 5 years, it increases by .04 for each additional year of marriage, from .24 at 5 years to .80 at 19 years.

For a marriage of 20 years or more, the court has discretion to order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage or for an indefinite term. Depending on the circumstances, maintenance may be fixed-term, indefinite, reviewable, or reserved.

When a case may require a non-guideline analysis

Cases involving combined gross income of $500,000 or more, prior support obligations, unusual compensation, closely held businesses, disputed earning capacity, substantial assets, or other complex financial circumstances may require a non-guideline analysis. Even when the guideline thresholds are met, a court may depart from the guidelines if it finds that applying them would be inappropriate.

Planning for the financial impact of maintenance

Maintenance does not exist in isolation. It often must be evaluated together with property division, child support, retirement assets, business interests, taxes, and each party’s post-divorce cash flow. RJSR represents clients in both negotiated and litigated maintenance matters and works with financial professionals when the case requires additional valuation, tax, or income analysis.

Because maintenance depends on the facts of each case, a guideline calculation is a starting point rather than a prediction of the result.

Estimate the guideline amount

Want to see how the current Illinois guideline works with your numbers? Try our Illinois Maintenance Calculator for a general estimate of guideline amount and duration, then review the result in the context of your specific facts.