Attorneys for Stay at Home Parents and Divorce in St. Charles, IL

Experienced Divorce Attorneys Serving Aurora, Batavia, and Kane County

Stay at home parents are often reluctant to initiate a divorce because of the fear for how they and their children will survive financially without their spouse. Consequently, many stay at home parents remain in untenable situations for far too long. It is important to understand, however, that stay at home parents have rights. With proper representation, a stay at home parent can get divorced and obtain the support they need to start fresh. At Shaw Sanders, P.C., our attorneys are experienced in helping stay at home parents through the divorce process. We keep your needs and objectives at the center of our legal strategies and work closely with you to protect your rights and interests.

Property Division and Stay at Home Parents

Money matters are usually the most worrisome for stay at home parents seeking to get divorced. Not having an income of your own to support you makes getting divorced feel like walking out on an unstable limb. Under the law in Illinois, however, marital assets are the property of both spouses regardless of who acquired them. That means stay at home parents have as much right to their spouses' income and any assets purchased with that income as their spouses do, provided there is not a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement stating otherwise.

Alimony/Maintenance Determination

In general, spousal maintenance is intended to minimize the negative financial impact of a divorce on the lower-wage-earning spouse and assist the lower wage earning spouse in maintaining a standard of living similar to the one enjoyed during the marriage. As such, spousal maintenance is tailor-made for divorces involving stay at home parents. The law recognizes that one parent may have foregone a career in order to care for the family and the household, and returning to the workforce immediately may not be possible.

In Illinois, once a judge determines that spousal support is warranted, the amount and duration of an alimony/maintenance award is determined using a statutory calculation based on the gross income of both parties and the length of the marriage. If one parent does not make any income (as is the case with most stay at home parents) the calculation is simple. The stay at home spouse would receive 30% of the gross income of the wage-earning spouse. For example, if your spouse makes $150,000 a year in gross income, your alimony award would be $50,000 a year. In addition, if the stay at home parent is awarded residential responsibility of the child(ren), he or she would receive child support in addition to alimony. The amount of the child support is also determined by statutory formula.

Contact Our Kane County Divorce Attorneys

If you are a stay at home parent considering a divorce or already involved in the divorce process, contact Shaw Sanders, P.C. by calling 630-584-5550 to schedule a free consultation. We will discuss your situation and advise you of your legal rights and options. Our firm is located in St. Charles, IL and we work with clients in Geneva, Batavia, St. Charles, Elgin, Aurora and throughout Kane, DuPage, DeKalb, and Kendall Counties.