The beginning of 2019 brought some significant changes to Illinois state divorce laws, impacting spousal maintenance, or also known interchangeably as spousal support and alimony in Illinois. Most are aware of the basis of spousal support, but to be clear it is a recurring payment from one former spouse, typically the higher earning individual, to the other former spouse. Essentially, the purpose is to avoid unfair financial effects of the divorce on the spouse who earned less income than the other spouse. The duration that spousal maintenance is paid largely depends on the length of the marriage.
