What Could Disqualify You from Receiving Spousal Support?
Posted on June 09, 2025 in Alimony/Spousal Support
If you are facing divorce in Illinois, one of the issues you may need to address is the award of spousal maintenance, also known as spousal support or alimony. The goal of spousal support is to provide financial support to the lower-earning spouse or the spouse who has fewer assets and less ability to earn a living. Spousal support should never be considered a given; the judge will factor many issues into whether support is warranted.
Illinois spousal support usually has a time limit that is largely based on the length of the marriage. While the payment of spousal support was once federally tax-deductible, as of December 31, 2018, it is no longer tax-deductible for the payer, nor is it counted as taxable income for the recipient. If you have questions regarding paying or receiving spousal support, it is important to speak to a highly qualified Wheaton, IL divorce lawyer.
Are There Disqualifiers for Spousal Support?
There are certain conditions and circumstances that can disqualify a person from being awarded alimony. While it would seem as though adultery or other types of marital misconduct would be a disqualifier, there are only very limited circumstances where this might be the case. Since Illinois is a no-fault state, marital misconduct usually does not factor into the division of marital assets or the award of spousal support.
The exception would be if one spouse significantly dissipated marital assets by spending large sums of marital money without the other spouse’s knowledge on things such as gambling, drugs, or gifts for a girlfriend/boyfriend. Other potential disqualifiers for spousal support include:
Short-Term Marriages
The court will consider the length of the marriage when considering whether spousal support is warranted. The state of Illinois uses a statutory scale to determine how long spousal support will last. A spouse whose marriage lasted between zero and five years could receive spousal support for a length that is 20 percent of the length of the marriage – i.e., for a marriage of five years, spousal support would last for one year, assuming other factors support alimony.
A spouse in a marriage that lasted between five and 10 years would receive spousal support for a time that is 40 percent of the length of the marriage. A spouse in a marriage that lasted between 10 and 15 years would receive spousal support for a time that is 60 percent of the length of the marriage. A spouse in a marriage that lasted between 15 and 20 years would receive spousal support for a time that is 80 percent of the length of the marriage. If the marriage lasted 20 years or more, spousal support could be awarded indefinitely or for the same amount of time as the marriage.
The Spouse Requesting Spousal Support Has the Ability to Be Self-Supporting
Simply not wanting to work will never qualify a spouse for spousal support unless that spouse happens to be elderly, in poor health, or does not have the ability to secure employment. A spouse who is not elderly, is in good health, and has earning capacity in the form of education, training, and skills will be expected to be self-supporting, or at least to become self-supporting within a specific length of time.
Other Factors Involved in Spousal Support
Other factors involved in the determination of spousal support include the couple’s standard of living during the marriage, the ability of one spouse to pay support, and the contributions made by the spouse requesting support to the home and children and to the other spouse’s education and career development. Other factors may be specific to the circumstances of each divorce.
Contact a DuPage County, IL Spousal Support Lawyer
Regardless of which side of the spousal support issue you are on, speaking to a Wheaton, IL spousal support attorney from Andrew Cores Family Law Group can be beneficial. Attorney Cores is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois and has served as a member of their TEC Committee. Our firm has the resources necessary to support our clients and fight for their futures. To schedule a free consultation, call 630-871-1002.
