Spousal support in Illinois, maintaining a lifestyle?

[gettingout?]

What considerations for maintaining a standard of living for a spouse after divorce would apply to this? After mostly staying home with the kids while I often had to work two jobs to add extra money to the household, my wife, who has had a part time job of several hours a day for over 12 years, decided she needed to "find herself" and has spent the better part of the past several years on the internet. Despite my concerns and objections she has been on there daily, averaging between 30 and 40 hours a week chatting with other men in a romantic context. Finally one of these men seemed to suit her enough that he visited her (after proposing marriage to her several times) and and their relationship became more important than ours. We had been in counseling for quite some time, the subject had been discussed, and she would not choose commitment to us, so I filed for divorce. After the divorce he visited again and they went of on a vacation and she returned wearing a diamond ring from him and apparently has been given money by him also. In the meantime I continue to pay all of the household expenses, while she spends money mainly on expensive dinners out with our adult children and her family.

I'll save the commentators here the time and go ahead and say for myself, yep it stinks. Now does anyone have some real input on how the courts may look at this, since I resented paying for this lifestyle (and said so many times in counseling) when we were "committed" to each other and would certainly resent having to continue to finance this when no longer committed.

 

[grandpabri]

Here you go...

(750 ILCS 5/504)
Sec. 504. Maintenance.
(a) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation
or declaration of invalidity of marriage, or a proceeding for
maintenance following dissolution of the marriage by a court which
lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, the court may grant
a temporary or permanent maintenance award for either spouse in amounts
and for periods of time as the court deems just, without regard to
marital misconduct, in gross or for fixed or indefinite periods of time,
and the maintenance may be paid from the income or property of the other
spouse after consideration of all relevant factors, including:
(1) the income and property of each party, including marital
property apportioned and non-marital property assigned to the party
seeking maintenance;
(2) the needs of each party;
(3) the present and future earning capacity of each party;
(4) any impairment of the present and future earning capacity
of the party seeking maintenance due to that party devoting time to
domestic duties or having forgone or delayed education, training,
employment, or career opportunities due to the marriage;
(5) the time necessary to enable the party seeking maintenance
to acquire appropriate education, training, and employment, and
whether that party is able to support himself or herself through
appropriate employment or is the custodian of a child making it
appropriate that the custodian not seek employment;
(6) the standard of living established during the marriage;
(7) the duration of the marriage;
(8) the age and the physical and emotional condition of both
parties;
(9) the tax consequences of the property division upon the
respective economic circumstances of the parties;
(10) contributions and services by the party seeking
maintenance to the education, training, career or career potential,
or license of the other spouse;
(11) any valid agreement of the parties; and
(12) any other factor that the court expressly finds to be
just and equitable.

 

[gettingout?]

thanks for the information, but is there anyone who might be able to share just how everything, including "other legal consideration" might affect the outcome of all of this. Generally speaking, if a spouse has chosen not to work over the objections of the other spouse while married, is this spouse going to be entitled continue to be supported even though capable of working while married by choosing as an individual and not as a partner not to work?