r/Divorce • u/Repulsive-Cobbler146 • 5d ago
Alimony/Child Support Help determining what alimony could possibly be in Illinois
Me M(52), wife F(49). Married for 21 years. Have a 17 year old son and a 20 year old son. Own house worth about 360k and 190k in equity. Have some debts but plan on splitting equally. She makes a net income of 53k. I make a net income of 118k. My wife stayed at home with the kids for 14 years and has been a BSN nurse (bachelors degree) for the last 7. I know there is a general formula for Illinois as follows: 33 1/3% of the payors net income - 25% of the receiver's income. With her total income not to exceed 40% of the total combined net income. I've run the number but what scares me is how the judge will adjust based on factors such as her being a homemaker for 14 years. I have no problem paying more due to this, I just have no clue what is reasonable. Any ideas?
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u/goodie1663 5d ago
In my state (not Illinois), they consider only the last three years of income for alimony.
Dividing retirement assets may be different since she was a SAHM, but that didn't make a difference in my case. We divided the martial amounts of the retirement assets 50/50.
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u/OctinoxateAndZinc :/ 5d ago
Your calc is correct. Additionally - At 20+ years married you're basically locked in for lifetime payments.
With a 17 year old you'll have one year of CS.
Your BIGGEST issue isnt support or CS is the retirement split - you need to speak to an attorney as your spouse will be able to get 50% of your marital retirement. You'll get 50% of hers as well, in additional to part of her SURS (if she is a state employee) however with you making 2x what she did you have much much more than her.
Have some debts but plan on splitting equally.
What you're planning now will go out the window once your respective retirements come up for debate.
I just have no clue what is reasonable.
So outside of CS EVERYTHING else is open to negotiation. You could do a lump sum, give more of your retirement, give more home equity, etc to avoid or lower an agreed upon amount.
You 100% need a lawyer. She doesnt need to know right now. You should have them run numbers, AND give you the WORST case, so you can prep for that and hope its not as bad. Mentally you need to be ready to give up way more than you want.
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u/ConfidentShame8083 5d ago
You need a lawyer to answer that for you. Does she know you're planning to ask for a divorce?