My Spouse Refuses To Work In My Illinois Divorce

Every marriage has roles and responsibilities.   Often, one party to a marriage ends up being the breadwinner or sole earner in the house while the other party takes care of the home and possibly the children.  So much of an Illinois divorce’s mechanics are based on the incomes of the parties that a non-working spouse becomes the most salient issue to a case.  So, what can you do if your spouse doesn’t work and you want a divorce in Illinois? Maintenance/Alimony in Illinois With A Non-working Spouse The biggest income related issue in an Illinois divorce is maintenance (formerly known as alimony) In Illinois, when making a temporary or permanent maintenance award, the court must first make initial considerations to determine that the non-working spouse is even entitled to maintenance. “The court shall first make a finding as to whether a maintenance award is appropriate, after consideration of all relevant factors, including:” 750 ILCS 5/504(a) The income and property of each party The realistic 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 Any impairment of the realistic present or future earning capacity of the party against whom maintenance is sought The time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and whether the party is able to support himself or herself through appropriate employment or any parental responsibility arrangements and its effect on the party seeking employment The standard of living established during the marriage The duration of the marriage. The age, health, station occupation, amount and sources of income, and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate liabilities, and the needs of each party All sources of public and private income including, without limitation, disability and retirement income 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 Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be just and equitable These are just the factors to consider if the court is going to award maintenance. The court can consider one or all of them when deciding “is this a maintenance case?” After a quick count, a non-working spouse could be fit into 9 of […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/my-spouse-refuses-to-work-in-my-illinois-divorce/