Dissolution of a Long-Term Marriage in Chicago
Ending a marriage that has lasted decades is a different experience than ending a short one. The emotional weight is heavier, and so are the financial stakes — you are dividing not just property, but the retirement and security you spent a lifetime building together. Divorce after a long marriage, often called “gray divorce” when it happens later in life, raises questions shorter divorces rarely do: how long spousal maintenance will last, how a pension is divided, and whether you will be financially secure on your own. In Illinois, those outcomes turn on the maintenance and property rules of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/503 and 504).
Divorce after 50 has roughly doubled since the 1990s (Pew Research Center), and today more than a third of people divorcing are 50 or older — many of them women who built a home and a life over decades and now face rebuilding their financial footing. The Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group by Haid and Teich LLP has guided women through exactly this, with care for both the personal and the financial weight of it. Managing partner Joshua P. Haid leads a team that understands what is truly at stake when a long marriage ends: not starting over with nothing, and protecting the security you earned. This page is part of the firm’s high net worth divorce practice.
After a long marriage, your security matters most. Talk with a Chicago divorce lawyer in a free, confidential consultation — call 312-445-8830.
What makes divorce after a long marriage different?
Long marriages involve decades of intertwined finances — a jointly built retirement, a long-held home, and often one spouse who stepped back from a career. That changes the legal center of gravity: spousal maintenance and the division of retirement assets usually matter more than in a short marriage, and the stakes for each spouse’s financial future are far higher. The law itself is the same, but how it applies is different.
How is spousal maintenance calculated in Illinois?
When a court finds maintenance appropriate, the guideline amount is 33⅓% of the payor’s net income minus 25% of the recipient’s net income, capped so the recipient’s total income does not exceed 40% of the couple’s combined net income (750 ILCS 5/504). This applies when combined gross income is under $500,000; above that, the court weighs the statutory factors instead. Maintenance is not automatic — the court first decides whether it is warranted.
How long does maintenance last after a long marriage?
This is where long marriages differ most. Duration is generally the length of the marriage multiplied by a statutory factor that rises with the years married. But for a marriage of 20 years or more, Illinois gives the court discretion to order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage — or permanent (indefinite) maintenance with no end date (750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)(1)(B)). After a long marriage, support can last many years, or for life.
What happens to retirement accounts and pensions?
For most couples ending a long marriage, retirement is the largest asset. The portion earned during the marriage is marital property (750 ILCS 5/503(b)(2)), divided by a QDRO for private plans or a QILDRO for Illinois public pensions. Getting this right is critical when you are near retirement and have little time to rebuild. Our retirement and investment accounts page covers the mechanics in detail.
How is decades of property divided?
Illinois divides marital property by equitable distribution (750 ILCS 5/503) — fairly, though not always equally. After a long marriage, nearly everything acquired over the years is likely marital, and the challenge is valuation and tracing: the family home, investment accounts, a business, and any property that started non-marital but became commingled over decades. Careful financial work protects your fair share.
Can I claim Social Security on my former spouse’s record?
Possibly. Under federal rules, if your marriage lasted at least 10 years and you meet the other requirements, you may be able to claim Social Security benefits based on your former spouse’s earnings record — often worth up to half of their benefit — without affecting what they receive. For someone who earned less during a long marriage, this can matter significantly to retirement security.
How we protect your security after a long marriage
After decades of marriage, the goal is not just a fair division on paper — it is making sure you can actually rebuild the life you planned, with far less time to recover than you had at 30. That shapes everything we do. We make sure the retirement accounts and pension are divided with the correct orders so your share is real and protected, not lost to a drafting error. We build the maintenance case carefully, because after a long marriage the duration and amount can define your security for the rest of your life. And we account for the full picture — the home, the investments, Social Security timing, health coverage — so nothing that matters to your future is treated as an afterthought. You spent decades building this life. Our job is to make sure you keep your fair share of it, with the security you earned.
Related: High Net Worth Divorce · Retirement & Investment Accounts · Complex Asset Division · Spousal Support
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