There is no avoiding the fact that divorce will have a financial impact on both parties. However, spouses who have not been the family’s breadwinner are often disproportionally affected. Stay-at-home parents, homemakers, and people who cannot work because of a disability may worry about how they will make ends meet once they do not have their spouse’s financial support. Spousal support, spousal maintenance, and alimony are all words used to describe monetary payments one spouse makes to the other after divorce. However, divorce cases can take many months or even several years to complete. How can the lesser-earning spouse support himself or herself during this time?
If you are getting divorced and you make less money than your spouse, you may be worried about how to cover your expenses while the divorce case is pending. In an ideal world, a higher-earning spouse would willingly provide the assistance the other spouse needs during this time. However, life is rarely ideal – especially during a divorce.
Fortunately, you have the option to seek a temporary relief order for spousal maintenance. Illinois law allows either party to petition the court for temporary maintenance. To do so, you will need to submit a motion for temporary maintenance as well as a financial affidavit showing your income and expenses. Supporting documents such as bank statements and tax returns can substantiate your financial affidavit. You spouse will be expected to provide financial information and supporting documentation as well. The judge will evaluate the financial information for both spouses and determine if temporary maintenance is appropriate.
Often, the judge will use the formula for calculating typical post-divorce maintenance to calculate the amount of temporary maintenance a spouse receives. However, this is not required and judges have wide discretion with regard to temporary maintenance orders. If the judge uses the statutory formula, temporary maintenance payments will be calculated by taking one-third of the paying spouse’s annual net income and subtracting one-fourth of the annual net recipient’s income. The amount of annual maintenance paid to a spouse cannot exceed 40 percent of the combined net income of the parties.
Temporary maintenance usually lasts the duration of the divorce. Once the divorce is finalized, the temporary maintenance order terminates. Depending on the specific facts of your case, you may also be entitled to post-divorce maintenance for a certain amount of time.
Source: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050k501.htm
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