In the event of a divorce, if either spouse does not have a separate estate, or if a spouse's assets are not sufficient to offer a means of support, a judge might order alimony, which is also known as maintenance in Illinois. Alimony is usually a monthly financial allowance paid by one spouse to another. The purpose of alimony is to offset any unfair economic effects of a divorce by providing a continuing income to the non-wage earning or lower-wage earning spouse. For a full explanation of divorce laws in Illinois, go to lawyers.com.

To be eligible for alimony, spouses in all states, including Illinois, must have been legally married. In Illinois, there is no statutory formula for determining the type and amount of maintenance that should be awarded; it is at the court’s discretion. There are three types of maintenance awarded in Illinois: rehabilitative, periodic (temporary), and permanent.

Rehabilitative is the most commonly awarded type of alimony and may include payments for the education necessary for the recipient spouse to become self-sufficient. When both spouses are able to support themselves, even if one earns substantially more than the other, maintenance may not ordinarily be awarded or continued.

Periodic maintenance may be paid for a specific amount of time, usually one or two years, to help one partner become financially independent and “get back on their feet.” In Illinois, periodic maintenance may end or be modified when a “reviewable event” occurs. Some examples of reviewable events include the completion of a specific educational or training program by the recipient spouse, a pay raise obtained by the recipient spouse, a significant increase or decrease in the income of the payer spouse, the passage of a predetermined amount of time that governed the duration of the support, a predetermined event concerning a child, such as turning a certain age.

Permanent alimony is paid regularly for an indefinite period of time or until a “terminating event” occurs. Terminating events may include the death of either of the spouses, remarriage of the recipient spouse, conjugal cohabitation with another on the part of the receiving spouse, or the retirement of the payer spouse.

Part V of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act recommends that Illinois courts consider the following factors when awarding maintenance:

• The income and property of each party, including marital property apportioned and non-marital property assigned to the party seeking maintenance
• The needs of each party
• The present and future earning capacity of each party
• 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 forgone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage
• The time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate employment or them being the custodian of a child making it appropriate that the custodian not seek employment
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• The duration of the marriage
• The age and the physical and emotional condition of both parties
• The tax consequences of the property division upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties
• Contributions and services by the party seeking maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse
• Any valid agreement of the parties
• Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable

In the United States, alimony is treated differently tax wise from child support payments. In Illinois, alimony is deductible for the person who pays it and taxable income for the person who receives it under the rules of the Internal Revenue Service, while child support is not. To review the full text of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage act, go to justia.com.