Maintenance
The statutory scheme for Family Law is not perfect and there are a lot of things that could be changed or added, but one of the most irksome problem is the maintenance provision. 750 ILCS 5/ is the statutory authority that governs dissolution of marriage proceedings. 750 ILCS 5/504 describes when and under what circumstances an Illinois court will grant maintenance to a spouse. There are very loose guidelines and it basically is left up to the discretion of the judge. The statute states that maintenance can be granted to either spouse temporarily or permanently at the judge’s discretion and then goes on to list several factors that the court will take into consideration including: income and property of each party, the needs of each party, the present and future earning capacity of each party, the standard of living during the marriage, and many more.
Although there are some criteria that will affect the court’s decision, it is ultimately up to the judge and that can be very frustrating to the parties and to their attorneys. You never know which way the judge is going to go and you could end up getting less maintenance than you hoped for as a party or end up giving fifty percent of your salary for maintenance. There is simply no rhyme or reason to it sometimes and a better system would be to set a percentage for maintenance. It would be great if the maintenance statute could be similar to 750 ILCS 5/505 which describes child support guidelines. The Illinois child support statute states that if you have one child you will pay twenty percent of your net income and the percentage goes up for each additional child. Although this system is not ideal in every instance, at least the parties know how much they will be paying or receiving in child support, instead of being left to the mercy of the court in regards to maintenance.
Ultimately, whether or not maintenance will be granted is not always certain and even if it is awarded, you never know how much you will get. The court may grant maintenance for life or just temporary maintenance. This is something that can affect each party’s life significantly and it should not be something discretionary that is reserved for the judge’s opinion on how he/she will interpret the factors in the statute.
- Melissa Fish
Clerk, Steele Law Firm
