What is the Maximum I Have to Pay for Alimony in Illinois?
Full Question:
Answer:
There is no maximum set under the statute, it is a matter of determination for the court based on all the facts in each case. The court may grant a temporary or permanent maintenance award for either spouse in amounts and for periods of time as the court deems just, without regard to marital misconduct, in gross or for fixed or indefinite periods of time.
A qualified domestic relation order (QDRO) is a court order in a domestic relations case that orders pension or retirement plan benefits to be used to provide alimony or child support, or to divide marital property in a divorce. ERISA is the primary federal law governing pension plans of employers. ERISA was amended in 1984 by the Retirement Equity Act. One of the provisions of the 1984 amendment created an exception to ERISA's preemption provisions for a qualified domestic relations order. ERISA defines a QDRO as a domestic relations order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right to receive, or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive, all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a participant under a pension plan, and that includes certain information and meets certain other requirements. Under federal law, the administrator of the pension plan that provides the benefits affected by an order is the individual (or entity) initially responsible for determining whether a domestic relations order is a QDRO. Under ERISA, there is no statute of limitations for the entry of a QDRO. Many attorneys wait months or years before filing the final Order with the Plan during which time the Participant may die, remarry, re-divorce (in which case another QDRO/DRO might be filed), or may make irrevocable retirement elections which cannot later be changed. These may affect all or part of the Alternate Payee's interest.
Please see the following IL statute:
(750 ILCS 5/504) (from Ch. 40, par. 504)
Sec. 504. Maintenance.
(a) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation or declaration of invalidity of marriage, or a proceeding for maintenance following dissolution of the marriage by a court which lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, the court may grant a temporary or permanent maintenance award for either spouse in amounts and for periods of time as the court deems just, without regard to marital misconduct, in gross or for fixed or indefinite periods of time, and the maintenance may be paid from the income or property of the other spouse after consideration of all relevant factors, including:
(1) the income and property of each party, including
marital property apportioned and non‑marital property assigned to the party seeking maintenance;
(2) the needs of each party;
(3) the present and future earning capacity of each
party;
(4) 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 forgone or delayed education, training, employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;
(5) 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;
(6) the standard of living established during the
marriage;
(7) the duration of the marriage;
(8) the age and the physical and emotional condition
of both parties;
(9) the tax consequences of the property division
upon the respective economic circumstances of the parties;
(10) contributions and services by the party seeking
maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential, or license of the other spouse;
(11) any valid agreement of the parties; and
(12) any other factor that the court expressly finds
to be just and equitable.
(b) (Blank).
(b‑5) Any maintenance obligation including any unallocated maintenance and child support obligation, or any portion of any support obligation, that becomes due and remains unpaid shall accrue simple interest as set forth in Section 505 of this Act.
(b‑7) Any new or existing maintenance order including any unallocated maintenance and child support order entered by the court under this Section shall be deemed to be a series of judgments against the person obligated to pay support thereunder. Each such judgment to be in the amount of each payment or installment of support and each such judgment to be deemed entered as of the date the corresponding payment or installment becomes due under the terms of the support order, except no judgment shall arise as to any installment coming due after the termination of maintenance as provided by Section 510 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act or the provisions of any order for maintenance. Each such judgment shall have the full force, effect and attributes of any other judgment of this State, including the ability to be enforced. A lien arises by operation of law against the real and personal property of the obligor for each installment of overdue support owed by the obligor.
(c) The court may grant and enforce the payment of maintenance during the pendency of an appeal as the court shall deem reasonable and proper.
(d) No maintenance shall accrue during the period in which a party is imprisoned for failure to comply with the court's order for the payment of such maintenance.
(e) When maintenance is to be paid through the clerk of the court in a county of 1,000,000 inhabitants or less, the order shall direct the obligor to pay to the clerk, in addition to the maintenance payments, all fees imposed by the county board under paragraph (3) of subsection (u) of Section 27.1 of the Clerks of Courts Act. Unless paid in cash or pursuant to an order for withholding, the payment of the fee shall be by a separate instrument from the support payment and shall be made to the order of the Clerk.
(Source: P.A. 94‑89, eff. 1‑1‑06.)