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Dissolution of Long Term Marriage
Child support
For many mothers, getting child support established during a divorce or separation is important for maintaining stability in the home.
Complex property division
To help you protect your property and your best interests during a divorce, our attorneys are prepared to advocate for you.
Custody, visitation & parental responsibilities
When mothers file for divorce, child custody issues are a top concern. Our lawyers focus on and advocate for mothers’ rights.
Custody without Marriage
Whatever the circumstance, parental responsibilities can still be allocated, and both parents can share important decision-making responsibilities and parenting time.
Dissolution of long term marriage
After years or sometimes decades of marriage, elements of a divorce, such as the division of marital property, can become quite complicated.
Divorce
Most people are unfamiliar with the divorce process. We will help you create & execute a plan to manage the difficulties that come with ending a marriage.
Divorce for business owners
Working with an experienced attorney who can help you to ensure that a business valuation occurs in a fair and accurate matter is essential.
Domestic Violence
We provide the caring, compassionate service you need while using our legal knowledge and experience to bring perpetrators to justice.
Chicago Dissolution of Long Term Marriage Lawyers
If you have been married for years and are now thinking about filing for divorce in Chicago, it is extremely important to have an experienced divorce attorney on your side. After years or sometimes decades of marriage, elements of an Illinois divorce, such as the division of marital property, can become quite complicated. For example, how can you determine whether certain assets that you have held for many years will be subject to division? What will happen to commingled accounts that may have been brought into the marriage? These questions, as well as significant concerns about spousal maintenance (formerly known as “alimony”), often arise in long-term marriages that result in divorce.
A dedicated Chicago divorce attorney at the Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group can help with your case. We understand how anxiety-inducing the prospect of divorce can be for women and mothers at any point in a marriage, and we know that it can feel particularly difficult to bounce back from a lifetime spent in a long-term marriage. One of our advocates can answer your questions today.
Spousal Maintenance and Long-Term Marriages in Illinois
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (750 ILCS 5/) governs the laws surrounding the dissolution of marriage in Chicago, as well as laws concerning spousal maintenance. For spouses who have been married for many years, it is important to recognize that the formula takes into account the combined income of the spouses and the length of the marriage. As such, someone who has been married for a longer period of time may be eligible for a different spousal maintenance award.
Specifically, long-term marriages tend to result in a longer duration of spousal maintenance. In any divorce, the court will first need to decide whether spousal maintenance is appropriate. To determine whether spousal maintenance should be awarded, the court will look to a number of different factors, including the duration of the marriage. As such, a long-term marriage may be more likely to result in a spousal maintenance award.
How the Duration of the Marriage Impacts Spousal Maintenance Awards
Once the court decides that spousal maintenance (also known as spousal support or alimony) is appropriate, then it will need to decide the amount of those payments and the length of time for which they will continue (the “duration” of the maintenance). The duration of a marriage is a variable in the formula used for determining the duration of a spousal maintenance award. For marriages that have lasted a particularly long time, maintenance payments can last anywhere from a decade to a lifetime.
For instance (in cases where the parties’ combined gross income is less than $250,000), for marriages that lasted between 15 and 20 years, the court will take the number of years married and multiply it by .8. That total equals the duration of the spousal maintenance award. And for marriages that have lasted 20 years or longer (in cases where the parties’ combined gross income is less than $250,000), the court can award maintenance either permanently or for the length of the marriage (e.g., spousal support for 25 years for a marriage that lasted 25 years).
Contact a Chicago Divorce Lawyer
In addition to questions about spousal maintenance, long-term marriages can also result in complicated issues involving property division. An experienced Chicago divorce lawyer can assist with your case. Contact the Women’s Divorce & Family Law Group today to learn more about how we can be your advocate in this process.
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