Maintenance

Maintenance is money paid by one spouse to the other spouse for his/her financial support. Maintenance is gender neutral. The Court can order maintenance be paid to a husband or a wife depending on the circumstances. An award of maintenance can be for a specific period of time or indefinitely. The determination for whether maintenance is appropriate is on a case-by-case basis and depends on the specific facts of each case.
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What factors affect whether I have to pay or whether I will receive maintenance?
  • The income and property of each spouse, including both marital and non-marital property;
  • All debts the parties may have;
  • The needs of each spouse;
  • The realistic earning capacity of each spouse;
  • Any impairment of the earning capacity of the spouse seeking maintenance due to devoting time to child rearing and domestic duties;
  • Any impairment of the earning capacity of the spouse against whom maintenance is being sought;
  • The time necessary for a spouse seeking maintenance to acquire education and training for employment;
  • The standard of living established during the marriage;
  • The length of the marriage;
  • The age, health, occupation, sources of income, skills and employability of each spouse;
  • All sources of income of each of the spouses, including income from employment, investment income, retirement income, disability income;
  • The tax consequences of the property division upon each spouse;
  • Any contribution made by one spouse to the spouse seeking maintenance for the education and training of the career of the other spouse;
  • Any valid written agreement between the parties; and
  • Any other factor the Court thinks is relevant and just
How much maintenance do I have to pay / can I receive?
If the combined annual gross income of both spouses is less than $500,000 and one spouse is entitled to receive maintenance, then the formula below is used to calculate maintenance. If the combined gross income of both spouses is more than $500,000, then the Court is not required to use the formula and instead considers the factors listed above.
30% of the Payor's Gross Annual Income
-20% of the Payee's Gross Annual Income
​Maintenance Amount*
*Note:  The amount of maintenance plus the payee's gross annual income cannot exceed 40% of the combined gross income of the parties.
How long do maintenance payments last?
The duration of maintenance payments is determined by the length of your marriage. The longer the marriage, the longer the maintenance obligation. Multiply the length of marriage by the applicable percentage to determine the duration of the maintenance payments from one spouse to the other using the chart below.

Length of Marriage

Percentage

Less than 5 years

.20

5 years or more but less than 6 years

.24

6 years or more but less than 7 years

.28

7 years or more but less than 8 years

.32

8 years or more but less than 9 years

.36

9 years or more but less than 10 years

.40

10 years or more but less than 11 years

.44

11 years or more but less than 12 years

.48

12 years or more but less than 13 years

.52

13 years or more but less than 14 years

.56

14 years or more but less than 15 years

.60

15 years or more but less than 16 years

.64

16 years or more but less than 17 years

.68

17 years or more but less than 18 years

.72

18 years or more but less than 19 years

.76

19 years or more but less than 20 years

.80

20 years or more

Per Court Order*

 

*For marriages lasting 20 years or more, the Court may order that maintenance be paid for a time equal to the length of the marriage or without an end date.
Can maintenance be paid before a divorce is finalized?
Yes. Maintenance can be awarded after a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage has been filed but before you are divorced.  This is called temporary maintenance.  However, the Court can order that the temporary maintenance payments be credited against the maintenance that is to be paid after the divorce.
Taxes on Maintenance Payments: Who is Responsible?
For divorces completed before January 1, 2019, the person paying the maintenance is able to deduct the maintenance payments on his or her tax return; and the person receiving the maintenance has to claim those payments as income on his or her tax return.
For divorces completed after January 1, 2019, maintenance payments will be considered tax neutral. The payor will no longer be able to deduct the maintenace payments, and the recipient will not pay taxes on the maintenance received.
It is anticipated that Illinois will revise its maintenance statutes and the formula used to calculate maintenance due to the impending change in taxation.