Do I have to pay spousal support if I earn more than my husband?

Possibly. Illinois maintenance law is gender-neutral, so a higher-earning wife can be ordered to pay maintenance to a lower-earning husband, based on the same formula and factors that apply to anyone. Whether maintenance is appropriate, and how much, depends on the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and earning capacity, and other factors. Having an attorney ensures any obligation is fairly calculated on the true financial picture, including your spouse’s real earning capacity.

Will my career or long work hours hurt me in a custody case?

No, not on their own. Illinois decides custody by the best interests of the child, not by which parent works more. Providing for your children through your work is part of responsible parenting, and courts recognize that working mothers raise their children well. What matters is your relationship with your children and the care arrangements around them — which we help present fully and accurately.

How do I protect my retirement and assets in a divorce as a working woman?

Retirement accounts and assets built during the marriage are generally marital property subject to division, so protecting your share starts with a complete, accurate valuation of everything — including your spouse’s assets and income. Dividing retirement often requires a specific court order (a QDRO) to avoid taxes and penalties. An attorney who understands complex finances makes sure what you built is fairly valued and protected. See our page on property division.

Can my spouse claim part of the business I built?

Often, at least in part. If a business was started or grew during the marriage, some or all of its value may be marital property, even if only your name is on it. Protecting your business requires proper valuation and a strategy for dividing its value fairly without necessarily disrupting the business itself. This is exactly the kind of complex-asset issue our firm handles; see complex property division.

Reviewed by Joshua P. Haid, Managing Partner

Working Women & Divorce

You have built a career, an income, and a life — and divorce should not quietly cost you what you worked to earn. Working women face a particular set of questions in divorce, and too often the wrong assumptions get made: that because you earn well you need less protection, or that a demanding career will somehow count against you as a mother. Neither is true, and both can hurt you if they go unchallenged.

The Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group by Haid and Teich LLP represents women across the earning spectrum, including successful professionals, business owners, and high earners. We understand what you have built and what it takes to protect it.

Protect the career and financial security you’ve earned. Talk with a Chicago divorce lawyer who represents working women — free, confidential consultation, 312-445-8830.

What’s at stake for working women

The financial questions in divorce can be more complex, not less, when you earn well. Your retirement accounts, your equity or stock, a business you built or helped build, and the assets you accumulated during the marriage are all part of the picture — and all deserve protection. There is also a reality that often catches successful women off guard: because Illinois support laws are gender-neutral, a higher-earning wife can be the one ordered to pay spousal maintenance or a larger share of child support to a lower-earning husband. That is not a reason for alarm, but it is a reason to have someone who understands the numbers making sure any obligation is fair, accurately calculated, and based on the true financial picture — including your spouse’s real earning capacity.

The custody question for working mothers

Many working mothers carry a quiet fear: that the hours their career demands will be used to argue they are less available to their children. Here is the reality. Illinois custody decisions turn on the best interests of the child, not on which parent works more, and providing for your family through your work is not a mark against you — it is part of being a responsible parent. What matters is your relationship with your children and the care they receive, and courts understand that working parents love and raise their children well every day. We help you present the full, true picture of your role as a mother, so a demanding job is seen for what it is: something you do for your family, not instead of them.

How we protect what you’ve built

Our work for working women is to protect both sides of your life — the financial and the personal. We make sure the assets and retirement you built are fairly valued and protected, and that any support obligation you face is accurate and just, never inflated. We protect your relationship with your children without apology for your career. And where your spouse understates their own income or earning capacity to shift the numbers, we bring the truth to light. You worked hard for what you have and for the life you have made with your children — and we make sure your divorce protects both.

Your career is an accomplishment, not a liability. Let us protect it — free, confidential consultation.