Lincoln Park Spousal Maintenance Attorneys

In this article, our Lincoln Park alimony attorneys reveal the process that Chicago divorce courts use to make decisions regarding to award spousal maintenance during a divorce.

The courts examine a number of factors to determine whether alimony is appropriate and if so, how much alimony will be awarded to the other party.  In determining whether spousal maintenance is to be awarded, the divorce courts will assess the following factors:

1. The income and property of each party;
2. The needs of each party;
3. The present and future earning capacity of each party;
4. The "Homemaker Contribution";
5. Any impairment of the present or future earning capacity of the party against whom maintenance is sought;
6. The time necessary for the party seeking maintenance to obtain the appropriate education, training, and employment;
7. The standard of living during the marriage;
8. The duration of the marriage;
9. The age and physical and emotional condition of both spouses;
10. All sources of public and private income, including disability and retirement income;
11. Tax consequences of the property division;
12. Contributions of one spouse to the other's education or career;
13. Agreements between the parties;
14. Any other factor that the court finds to be just and equitable.

These factors are also weighed to determine the amount and duration of child support in cases in which the statutory formula is not applied

In this article, our Lincoln Park alimony attorneys discuss both dissipation and contribution and how they are factored into Lincoln Park divorce proceedings.One of the most time consuming challenges in any divorce is sorting through finances of both parties of a divorce. Dissipation and contribution are typically overlooked when analyzing marital finances because they both deal with money or assets that have already been spent. When one spouse uses marital resources for non-marital purposes, it is likely they have “dissipated” the marital estate. If a dissipation has occurred, then the spouse who has caused the dissipation must reimburse the marital estate for this improper expenditure. contribution, on the other hand, occurs when one spouse uses non-marital funds to contribute to a marital expense. When a contribution has occurred then the contributing party is entitled to reimbursement from the marital estate.

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Our Lincoln Park spousal maintenance lawyers review how maintenance payments can affect child support obligations. We discuss what can be expected from the courts to determine additional monetary awards and how they are calculated. Our attorneys explain it in clear and understandable terms so you can have a better idea of what to expect when spousal maintenance payments are factored into child support payment calculations. Under Illinois child support law, which you can read all about here, each parent's responsibility for child support is determined based on their "net incomes" relative to one another. According to 750 ILCS 5/505(a)(2)(A), a portion of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, maintenance payments received by one of the parents must be included in "gross income" for the purpose of calculating child support. Since each parent's child support obligation is based on the parents' relative income, the greater your income as compared to the other parent, the less you will receive in child support.

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