Maintenance (also referred to as "alimony" or "spousal support") is often times a key issue in a divorce or legal separation. In Illinois, a court may award maintenance to one spouse and is presented in the form of a monetary payment from one spouse to another. Either spouse can be ordered to pay maintenance to their spouse by the court; marital misconduct is not considered when an award for maintenance is granted. The court has broad discretion to award any amount which is deemed necessary for the support of the recipient spouse and may be paid from the income or property of the other spouse after consideration of all relevant factors, including:

• 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 foregone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;
• the time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and whether that party is able to support himself or herself through
• appropriate employment or is 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; and
• any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable.

There are several types of maintenance awards in a divorce proceeding. The first type "Permanent Alimony" is a payment for things such as food, housing, clothing, and other provisions of a spouse. If a spouse is requesting permanent alimony, they must prove their need of support. Permanent alimony, once awarded, remains in effect indefinitely or until there is a change in circumstances, which may lead to a review of the arrangement. "Rehabilitative Alimony" is a payment designed to provide the necessary support to enable a spouse to refresh or develop job skills that will allow them to secure a vocation. Lastly, there is "Restitutional Alimony" which is a repayment of support given to a spouse while they were pursuing their education or enhancing vocational skills. A spouse receiving maintenance is expected to make good faith efforts, considering his or her age, skills, and life experience, to become self-supporting. Please note that any of the aforementioned types of support may also be granted temporarily to a spouse while the divorce case is pending.

For more information about maintenance, or any other family law matter, please contact Amil Alkass at aalkass@lavellelaw.com or (847) 705-7555.