Do Wives Always Get Alimony After an Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on March 27, 2022 in Divorce

Many spouses are awarded alimony, or spousal maintenance, both during and after an Illinois divorce. Yet while alimony used to be nearly ubiquitous for women, who were generally the spouse responsible for raising children, Illinois law has changed to reflect the fact that women are often at least as active in the workforce as their partners. 

Among other modifications that modernized the law, there is now no guarantee that a wife will get either full custody or spousal maintenance after a divorce. However, if one spouse would be at a significant financial disadvantage after a marriage ends, a court may order alimony payments. Here are some factors that can influence whether spousal maintenance will be part of your divorce decree. 

Did One Spouse Make Significantly More Than the Other? 

If one spouse outearned the other throughout the marriage and the quality of life of the lesser-earning spouse would be significantly diminished after the divorce, a court may order temporary spousal maintenance even if the lesser-earning spouse is working. Unless the marriage lasted more than 20 years, spousal maintenance will likely only be temporary until the lesser-earning spouse has enough time to get on his or her feet after the divorce. 

Was One Spouse a Homemaker? 

Illinois recognizes the difficult and valuable contributions that stay-at-home parents make to their marriage. When one spouse has given up educational or career opportunities to stay home and raise children, he or she will likely receive spousal maintenance as part of the divorce decree. If continuing to raise young children would affect the receiving spouse’s ability to go back to school or re-enter the workforce right away, alimony may be ordered for several years and periodically renewed or modified pending court review. 

Did a Prenuptial Agreement Address Alimony? 

Spouses can address the issue of alimony in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Many spouses do this because they both anticipate working throughout the marriage and do not want to deal with the hassle of negotiating alimony during a divorce. Likewise, spouses can use a prenup to ensure that they will get spousal maintenance payments if they stay home to raise children. 

Meet with a Rolling Meadows Spousal Maintenance Lawyer

If you are considering a divorce in Illinois, schedule a free initial case review with the experienced Rolling Meadows spousal maintenance lawyer at The Law Offices of Curtis Bennett Ross, L.L.C.. At our boutique downtown Chicago law firm, we place the focus on the client so you can move through your divorce as quickly and efficiently as possible. Attorney Ross also offers mediation services and has experience working as a court-appointed guardian ad litem. Call us today at 312-984-1514. 

Source: 

https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt%2E+V&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=6200000&SeqEnd=8675000