How Long Do You Have To Be Married To Receive Alimony?

What is Alimony? 

Alimony means the financial support, otherwise known as “maintenance,” that a higher-earning spouse pays to the lower-earning spouse after a divorce. This exists because when a divorce happens, and one spouse has grown accustomed to a certain standard of living during their marriage, they may have substantial difficulty maintaining the same lifestyle standard on their own due to a number of factors, and this is legally considered not to be fair.  So, alimony is essentially a monthly payment made by the more well-off person to their former spouse in order to prevent their ex from financially struggling.  

Key Takeaways

• Alimony, or financial support from a higher-earning spouse to a lower-earning spouse after divorce, ensures the lower-earning spouse can maintain a similar standard of living.
• Alimony is determined by various factors such as income disparity, earning potential, and lifestyle during marriage, with the duration based on the length of the marriage according to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act.
• Alimony may end early if the receiving spouse remarries, cohabitates with a new partner, or passes away, and even short marriages can qualify for alimony, though typically for shorter periods.

Examples of Situations in Which Alimony Would be Paid 

The reasons why this may make sense in the case of a divorce are numerous. For example, a wife may have foregone the opportunity to progress her career in order to stay home with her children while her husband works. After a period of several years, the husband may be earning a substantial income due to the fact that he was able to devote more of his time to his career, while the wife has no professional experience to put on her resume because she has spent the past several years caring for their children and therefore is not eligible for jobs which would allow her to earn her own income at the same level.  

During this time, the wife may have grown accustomed to the lifestyle that the husband’s earnings have provided for them, and it would be unfair for her to have to start her life basically all over again in the event that the couple part ways. She would have to get a job that does not require experience and, therefore, pays significantly less than what she may need to be able to afford housing in which she would feel comfortable having her children. She may not even be eligible for various housing, such as rental units, without being able to put down multiple months’ rent up front, but without the financial support of her ex-husband, it is unlikely that she would be able to scrape together such an amount.  

This would be detrimental not only to her but also to the couple’s shared children. This is especially unfair if the only reason the husband was able to reach a higher level in his career was because the wife had taken care of every other part of his life for the many years they were married. Had she not made the sacrifice of giving up her professional life in order to be fully available to their family, the husband may not have been able to devote himself so completely to his job, thereby letting him climb the professional ladder.  

This is, of course, just one example, and the types of situations that make alimony a justifiable and, in fact, necessary legal concept are varied and abundant. What if one spouse gave up the opportunity to receive further academic or professional training in order to support the career of their significant other? Let’s say a person decided to forego attending a prestigious graduate school in favor of helping their spouse campaign for political office and following their divorce, they are unable to reach the same level in their field that they would have had they attended the graduate school, and now they can’t afford to either pay for the school or support themselves without their former spouse’s financial contributions.  Considering what they gave up for their former spouse’s success, it is only fitting that their former spouse now returns some of that favor. 

A final example is also a common one: both parties are skilled, but Partner A pursues further professional training, thereby increasing their chances of earning a higher income but also preventing them from working during the course of their study. Partner B takes on all the responsibilities related to paying the bills and works steadily throughout their spouse’s continued education. They have essentially financially supported Partner A during that whole time, and once they split up, their ex, Partner A, can now get a higher-earning job than Partner B, but Partner A’s success is due in large part to having been able to rely on Partner B. Therefore, Partner A owes some of their earning potential to Partner B and should fill the gap between their wages by contributing financially to Partner B after they split. 

How Alimony is Calculated 

Alimony and how it is allocated is governed by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act. This statute was updated in 2019, and significant changes have been implemented, so our calculations here will be based on the updated version of the Act. It is important to note that there is a cap on the amount the receiving spouse can get from the paying spouse. This cap is 40% of the combined income of the two former spouses. Therefore, the receiving spouse cannot be getting more than 40% of their combined income. 

The amount of alimony is calculated based on these factors, among others: 

1. the income disparity between the parties 
2. the non-paying party’s earning potential  
3. the non-paying party’s assets 
4. the lifestyle that the couple has been living and to which the non-paying party has become accustomed 
5. the length of the marriage 

Duration of Marriage 

The receiving spouse will only be entitled to alimony for a length of time, which is based on the duration of the marriage (the duration of the marriage at the time the divorce proceedings commenced). According to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act, the breakdown is as follows: 

• for a marriage that lasted less than five years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .20 
• for a marriage that lasted between 5-6 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .24 
• for a marriage that lasted between 6-7 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .28 
• for a marriage that lasted between 9-10 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .40 
• for a marriage that lasted between 10-11 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .44 
• for a marriage that lasted between 14-15 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .60 
• for a marriage that lasted between 19-20 years, the receiving spouse may receive alimony for the # of years married multiplied by .80 
• for a marriage which lasted longer than 20 years, the alimony may be ordered by the court to last for the same amount of years as the marriage. 

This, obviously, skips some years, but it is clear that the length of marriage does impact how long the receiving spouse is entitled to receive alimony but does not necessarily impact their legal right to receive it in the first place. You can be married for one year and still be entitled to alimony for a couple of months, so alimony for a short marriage is very possible. The more significant factors for whether a potentially receiving spouse is eligible for alimony are those listed above, like income disparity and earning potential. 

Examples of Calculations of Alimony 

Let’s break down some examples. If the two former spouses make the same amount of money, there is really not much need, if at all, for alimony to be paid to either of them. However, if one former spouse earns a minimum wage while the other earns three times that much, the higher-earning spouse will have to pay some amount to the lower-earning spouse. There are alimony calculators available for family law attorneys and courts to determine the exact figures, but let’s do a calculation of the duration of alimony based on the percentages from the Marriage and Dissolution Act: 

• Spouse A earns the 2024 Illinois mandated minimum wage of $14 per hour. This amounts to a yearly gross income (this means the total income before any taxes or other deductions are applied) of $29,120 per year. 
• Spouse B earns three times that amount, equally a gross yearly income of $87,360 per year. 
• If they have no children and therefore no dependents, and they were married for ten years, according to the calculation provided above, alimony would be paid from Spouse B to Spouse A for: 

Ten years of marriage x .44 = 4.4 years of alimony, and the alimony amount would be based on calculations taking into account the discrepancy in their incomes, along with the receiving spouse’s (Spouse A’s) earning potential and standard of living, among other factors. 

Short Term Marriage Alimony 

The length of the marriage is used to calculate the duration of alimony being paid, not the amount, and it is not in and of itself determinative of whether alimony is required or permitted. Even short marriages may qualify for a court order of alimony; they just won’t qualify for alimony to be paid out for a very long duration. 

Divorce After 2 Years of Marriage Alimony 

If a couple has been married for two years at the time an action for divorce was commenced, the duration for which alimony will be paid will be calculated using the .20 number listed above for marriages of less than five years. This calculation is: 2 years multiplied by .20 equals 4.8. So, in this example, the duration of the alimony payments would last for 4.8 months after the divorce is finalized. 

Alimony After 3 Years of Marriage  

If a couple has been married for three years at the time an action for divorce was commenced, the duration for which alimony will be paid will be calculated using the same .20 number listed above for marriages of less than five years. This calculation is: 3 years multiplied by .20 equals 7.2. So, in this example, the duration of the alimony payments would last 7.2 months after the divorce is finalized. 

Factors for Termination of Alimony 

Alimony will be terminated before the length of time has run for which the receiving spouse is eligible to receive it if the receiving spouse either passes away or gets remarried to someone else. Often, according to the terms of their divorce settlement agreement, alimony will also terminate if the receiving spouse begins to cohabitate with a new romantic partner. To put it simply, if Spouse A is entitled to alimony for a period of 5 years, but after three years, Spouse A gets remarried, they will no longer receive alimony after the three years.  

In Conclusion 

Ultimately, though the length of time that a couple was married does factor into the calculations of the amount of alimony owed, it does not altogether preclude alimony from being ordered. There are many other factors that are taken into account for alimony in Illinois for short-term marriages. Unless a marriage only lasts for a matter of days or weeks, you can be married for a short time or a long time and still be eligible to receive alimony.