New spousal maintenance guidelines answer some questions, raise others

Recent amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act create a formula for calculating spousal maintenance that factors in the spouses' incomes and the length of their marriage. The amendments also affect child support because an increase in maintenance now corresponds to an -- often dramatic -- child-support decrease.

The new maintenance formula is triggered only if a judge first determines that maintenance is appropriate, and only if the combined gross income of the parties is less than $250,000 and no multiple family situation exists.

But though the formula was supposed to make outcomes more consistent, the statutory language creates its own puzzles. Questions about how to calculate gross income, the implications of deviating from the guidelines, and other factors are probably headed for the reviewing courts. Find out more in the September Illinois Bar Journal.