Maintenance (Alimony) in Illinois: The Guideline Formula, Duration Table and When It Ends

Illinois calls alimony maintenance. Either spouse can receive it, and Illinois sets the amount and length with a statutory guideline in section 504 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. But the guideline comes second. The court "shall first make a finding as to whether a maintenance award is appropriate," after weighing the statutory factors. Only if it is does the formula come in.

Step 1: Is maintenance appropriate?

The court considers all relevant factors, including (§ 504(a)):

• each spouse's income and property, including what each receives in the divorce;
• each spouse's needs;
• each spouse's present and future earning capacity;
• any impairment of the earning capacity of the spouse seeking maintenance from devoting time to domestic duties or giving up education, training, employment or career opportunities during the marriage;
• any impairment of the other spouse's ability to earn;
• the time needed for the spouse seeking maintenance to get education or training, and whether that spouse can become self-supporting;
• the effect of the parenting arrangements on each spouse's ability to work;
• the standard of living during the marriage;
• the length of the marriage;
• each spouse's age, health, and economic circumstances;
• all sources of public and private income, including disability and retirement income;
• the tax consequences;
• contributions and services by the spouse seeking maintenance to the other's education, training or career;
• any valid agreement between the spouses; and
• any other factor the court finds just and equitable.

Step 2: The guideline amount

The guidelines apply when "the combined gross annual income of the parties is less than $500,000 and the payor has no obligation to pay child support or maintenance or both from a prior relationship." 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)(1)(A):

(A) The amount of maintenance under this paragraph (1) shall be calculated by taking 33 1/3% of the payor's net annual income minus 25% of the payee's net annual income. The amount calculated as maintenance, however, when added to the net income of the payee, shall not result in the payee receiving an amount that is in excess of 40% of the combined net income of the parties.

Notice that the formula uses net income, after taxes, not gross. Net income has the same meaning as in the child support statute (§ 505), not counting maintenance in this case.

When the guidelines don't apply. If combined gross income is $500,000 or more, or the payor already pays support from an earlier relationship, the court sets maintenance from the factors without the formula. The court can also deviate from the guideline, with findings, when it finds the guideline inappropriate, and it may do so when maintenance plus child support would exceed 50% of the payor's net income.

Step 3: How long maintenance lasts

Duration is the length of the marriage, measured to the date the case was filed, multiplied by a factor (§ 504(b-1)(1)(B)):

A 10-year marriage gives 10 × .44 = 4.4 years of maintenance. For a marriage of 20 years or more, the court orders maintenance either for a period equal to the length of the marriage or for an indefinite term. Temporary maintenance paid while the case was pending may be credited against the duration.

The judgment states whether the award is fixed-term, indefinite, reviewable, or reserved for later decision.

Temporary maintenance

While the case is pending, either spouse can ask for temporary maintenance under § 501, which the court decides on a summary basis. The guideline formula in § 504(b-1)(1) is written for maintenance "payable after the date the parties' marriage is dissolved."

When maintenance ends

750 ILCS 5/510(c):

(c) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties in a written agreement set forth in the judgment or otherwise approved by the court, the obligation to pay future maintenance is terminated upon the death of either party, or the remarriage of the party receiving maintenance, or if the party receiving maintenance cohabits with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis.

Maintenance stops by operation of law on the date of remarriage, or the date the court finds cohabitation began, and the payer is entitled to reimbursement for anything paid after that date. A spouse receiving maintenance must give the payer notice of a planned remarriage.

Modification. Either spouse can ask to change maintenance "only upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances" (§ 510(a-5)). The court weighs factors such as changes in either spouse's employment and income, the recipient's efforts to become self-supporting, and how long maintenance has already been paid compared with the length of the marriage.

Taxes

For divorce or separation agreements executed after December 31, 2018, the IRS doesn't let the payer deduct maintenance and doesn't tax the recipient, and the Illinois formula uses net income. Illinois income tax starts from federal adjusted gross income, so Illinois follows the same treatment. Older orders keep the old treatment unless a modification adopts the new one; the statute keeps a separate gross-income formula for modifying those orders.

Where these sections live

• 750 ILCS 5/504 — Maintenance
• 750 ILCS 5/510 — Modification and termination
• 750 ILCS 5/501 — Temporary relief