Spousal Maintenance & Alimony

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. 

The taxability of alimony depends on the date of divorce finalization and any modifications to the divorce decree, with pre-2019 divorces generally making alimony taxable for the recipient and deductible for the payer, while post-2019 divorces do not.

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Divorces finalized before 2019 allowed the payer to deduct alimony payments from their taxable income, while the recipient reported them as income. Conversely, post-2019 divorces altered this dynamic, eliminating the tax deduction for the payer and the income reporting requirement for the recipient.