In a divorce in Illinois, the length of a marriage often has a major impact on how financial issues are decided. A long marriage typically means the couple’s lives have been deeply intertwined, with more time to build assets and, in many cases, debts. It also means the couple has likely developed an established financial arrangement for how they support each other, which is a critical factor when a judge decides how to divide assets and debts.
Judges will also consider each person’s age, education, earning potential, and work history throughout the marriage when determining how property should be divided.
“Status Quo” On Financial Matters
When a couple first separates, the judge will first look at the “status quo” of the marriage to determine how the parties handled their finances prior to when the marriage started to break down.
Once the divorce proceedings have begun, the judge will order that the status quo should continue to avoid issues where one spouse withdraws their financial support of marital expenses that are typically shared, like a mortgage, utilities, and the like.
Based on the couples’ respective incomes, work histories, educations, non-marital assets, and the length of the marriage, a family court judge will make determinations about how to divide up the parties’ assets, namely through an award of spousal maintenance (or not) and the percentage of the marital property allocated to each party.
In addition to financial contributions, the judge will also look at whether one party was providing significant financial support to the other party, most often in cases where one parent stays at home with the children or otherwise has not worked full-time during the marriage in order to support the family.
The ultimate goal in awarding maintenance, or not, and dividing the parties’ marital property is to facilitate for both parties to continue to live a life like the one they enjoyed during the marriage, as well as prevent either party from financial hardship.
Spousal Maintenance
Maintenance is awarded to a spouse at the judge’s discretion based on a range of factors detailed in 750 ILCS 5/504. Anyone who has been married for a year or longer could be entitled to maintenance, but the length of the marriage determines the length of the maintenance award.
So, marriages that last only a couple of months, or a year or two, are unlikely to result in a maintenance award unless there is an enormous disparity in the parties’ incomes. However, parties who have been married five, ten, or more years are more likely to see a maintenance award as part of their divorce settlement.
Based on your current and potential future finances, the length of marriage, and a host of other factors like age, education, and professional experience, the judge will determine:
- whether an award of maintenance is necessary or appropriate in your case;
- how much maintenance should be; and
- for how long the maintenance should go on.
The judge will focus primarily on the parties’ incomes, namely who earned more during the marriage and what the income-earning potential is for both parties in the future based on their respective educations and professional experience.
The greater the disparity between the parties’ work histories and educations, the more likely it is that a judge will award maintenance to the lower-earning party.
For some, maintenance is awarded for a period of years with the specific intention of helping that person gain the education necessary to get a job that will allow them to become financially independent.
That is often the case for younger couples where one person has not pursued an education, or a career, in order to allow the other spouse to get their degree, or by dedicating their time to raising the parties’ children.
In those situations, the judge is more likely to award maintenance for a period sufficient to allow that person to go back to school to complete a degree, gain additional professional experience, or something similar that will allow them to become financially independent.
However, the longer the marriage, and the older the parties, the less likely it will be that the lower-earning spouse will ever be able to “catch up” to their spouse and become financially independent.
In these situations, it makes a maintenance award that much more critical to the lower-earning spouse. If the agreement during a long-term marriage was that only one party would work, the other spouse has an obligation to continue to provide the same level of financial support after the separation.
Impact of the Lifestyle Enjoyed During Marriage
Under the law, both parties have the right to live in a manner like the lifestyle enjoyed by the couple during the marriage. So, the spouse who earned less, or perhaps did not work so that they could be a stay-at-home parent, does not have to forgo the lifestyle that they were accustomed to during the marriage.
This is meant to protect the lower-earning spouse from becoming destitute because of the divorce.
So, even if you consider you and your spouse to have broken up, that does not mean that you no longer have a financial obligation to them. Your financial obligation to your spouse will not end until you have finalized your divorce and, if maintenance is awarded, that obligation will likely last beyond your marriage, as well.
Length of Maintenance Award
Regarding the length of time for the maintenance award, the longer the marriage, the longer the maintenance obligation. Section 5/504 of the law specifically sets out a mathematical formula used to calculate how long a person is entitled to maintenance that is a fraction of the length of the marriage.
The longer the marriage, the larger the fraction. Once a couple has reached twenty years of marriage, or more, the maintenance will either last the length of the marriage or for an “indefinite” period to be determined by the judge.
However, even long-term maintenance awards can be shortened, or reduced, based on changes in the parties’ incomes so long as the maintenance award is reviewable. An involuntary decrease in income, or retirement, could provide sufficient grounds for terminating a maintenance award.
Likewise, the remarriage of the receiving party, or their cohabitation with another individual, would also provide grounds for terminating a spousal maintenance obligation prior to its expiration under the statute.
Marital Property
The length of the marriage has a less direct impact on the division of the parties’ property and debts during a divorce. Individuals are not awarded a specific percentage or portion of the marital property based on the length of the marriage.
However, the length of marriage is likely most important in determining what is marital property versus non-marital property and looking at each parties’ contributions to that property. The longer two people have been married, the more likely it is that the property they own is marital property.
Marital property is subject to division, even if one party is the only person making any financial contribution to the property.
What Is Considered Marital Property?
When looking at what constitutes marital property, the most important factor is when the property was purchased. Any property, which can include homes but also includes cars, furniture, retirement accounts, and the like, that was acquired during the marriage is marital property, unless it was created with specifically non-marital funds like an inheritance.
So, the longer a couple is together, the more likely it is that the property they own at the time of the divorce was acquired during the marriage. It’s also more likely the items purchased during the marriage were purchased with marital funds, which also makes that property divisible.
It is critical to understand that even if only one part was financially contributing to the property, i.e. making the mortgage payments, that does not mean the property isn’t marital.
Contributions are not solely financial in the eyes of the court—a spouse’s efforts in terms of caring for the children and general upkeep of the home also constitute contributions that will be financially rewarded when the parties’ property is divided as part of the divorce.
Regarding property like retirement accounts, bank accounts, and other financial investments, it is also critical to understand that the funds contributed into those accounts during the marriage are considered marital money, even if they went straight from your paycheck to your 401(k).
That includes employer contributions and gains on the account value, as well. So, those accounts are also subject to division, usually equally, in recognition of the fact that those funds were intended to support both parties during their old age.
No Matter The Length of Marriage, Get Advice from an Experienced Family Law Attorney
Perhaps the most important takeaway is understanding that once you are married, the property earned and acquired by you and your spouse during your marriage is shared.
Whether that is for one year or thirty years, a duty to support each other financially is created during your marriage that only becomes deeper and more complicated as the marriage continues.
No matter the length of marriage, it is important to have an experienced family law attorney to help you navigate and understand your obligations, and entitlements, under the law in order to best protect your assets as you move forward from your marriage, and into the next stage of your life.
Legal Questions About Length of Marriage in an Illinois Divorce
Does the Length of Marriage Affect How Debts Are Divided in Illinois?
It can. In a longer marriage, debts that accumulated over many years are more likely to be treated as shared obligations, even if only one spouse’s name is on the account.
Courts look at when the debt was created, what it was used for, and whether it benefited the household. A credit card one spouse used for family expenses over a decade is viewed very differently from a personal loan taken out weeks before filing.
In a shorter marriage, courts tend to examine more carefully whether debts were truly marital. If your finances were never deeply intertwined, it is easier to argue that certain obligations belong to the person who incurred them. However, on this issue, you may see a wide range of outcomes since it relies heavily on judicial discretion.
For a closer look at how Illinois courts handle different types of marital and non-marital debt, see our guide on how debt is divided in an Illinois divorce.
Can a Short-Term Marriage Protect My Assets in an Illinois Divorce?
Not automatically. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed marital regardless of how brief the marriage was. However, in a short marriage, there is often less financial overlap.
If you kept your accounts separate, did not mix pre-marital savings with joint funds, and can clearly trace what you brought in versus what was acquired together, you have a stronger case for keeping those assets classified as non-marital.
Keep in mind, however, that your income earned during the marriage is considered marital, so actions such as contributing same into accounts that only have one person’s name on it could be viewed as comingling marital and non-marital money.
The key is classification, not duration. A two-year marriage where everything was deposited into joint accounts creates more division exposure than a two-year marriage where each spouse maintained separate finances.
What matters is whether marital and non-marital funds stayed apart. However, judicial discretion plays a significant role in these scenarios as they are extremely fact dependent.
Does the Date of Separation Matter When Determining Marital Property in Illinois?
Many people assume that once they physically separate, everything earned or acquired from that point forward is theirs alone. That is not how Illinois law works in regards to property.
Marital property includes assets acquired from the date of marriage through the entry of a judgment of dissolution. Physical separation does not create a legal cutoff.
This matters significantly in longer marriages where couples may live apart for months or even years before finalizing the divorce. Income earned, bonuses received, and retirement contributions made during that separation period are still presumed marital.
The court does have discretion over the valuation date for assets (750 ILCS 5/503(f)), which can affect how much something is worth when it is divided. But separation alone does not change what qualifies as marital property.
If you have been separated for an extended period and are concerned about property classification, that is exactly the kind of issue an attorney can help you navigate before it becomes a problem at trial.
How Does a Long Marriage Impact Retirement Account Division in Illinois?
The longer the marriage, the larger the portion of retirement savings that is likely subject to division. Contributions made to a 401(k), pension, or IRA during the marriage are presumed marital property, even if only one spouse funded the account (750 ILCS 5/503(b)(2)). That includes employer matches and investment growth on those contributions.
In a marriage spanning 20 or 30 years, the marital portion of a retirement account can represent the vast majority of its total value. A spouse who never directly contributed still has a claim to the portion that grew during the marriage, because Illinois treats those years of contributions as part of the shared economic partnership.
The pre-marital balance and any growth on it typically remain non-marital, but separating that from decades of marital contributions requires careful tracing.
Can Non-Marital Property Become Marital During a Long Marriage?
Yes, and it happens more often than people realize. The most common way is commingling: mixing non-marital funds with marital funds until the original source can no longer be traced.
Depositing an inheritance into a joint checking account, using pre-marital savings to renovate a home titled in both names, or adding a spouse to the deed of property you owned before the marriage can all convert what was once separate into something the court treats as shared.
In a long marriage, decades of shared financial activity make this far more likely. Accounts get consolidated, titles get changed, and the paper trail fades. Once non-marital property loses its separate identity, the burden falls on the person claiming it to prove otherwise with clear and convincing evidence.
Proper documentation is the best protection. For more on how commingling works and how to prevent it, read our article on protecting your inheritance in divorce.
Does the Length of Marriage Impact Who Keeps the Marital Home?
It can influence the decision. In a long marriage, courts tend to give more weight to stability, particularly when one spouse has lived in the home for many years or served as the primary caretaker for the children. The home represents continuity, and judges factor that in when deciding how to allocate it.
In shorter marriages, the analysis often shifts toward financial contributions: who made the down payment, whose income covered the mortgage, and how much equity each spouse can actually claim.
The home is never evaluated in isolation. It is part of the overall property distribution, so one spouse may keep the house while the other receives a larger share of retirement accounts or other assets to balance things out.
For more on how Illinois courts handle the family home in divorce, see our article on whether you are entitled to money from the marital home.
Does the Length of Marriage Determine How Long Spousal Support Lasts in Illinois?
Yes. Marriage length is the primary factor in how long maintenance payments continue. Illinois uses a statutory formula that multiplies the number of years married by a percentage that increases with the duration of the marriage (750 ILCS 5/504(b-1)(1)(B)).
A five-year marriage might result in about one year of support. A ten-year marriage could mean roughly four and a half years. For marriages lasting 20 years or more, the court can order maintenance for a period equal to the length of the marriage or indefinitely.
The formula applies when the couple’s combined gross income is under $500,000 and neither spouse has a support obligation from a prior relationship. Above that threshold, or in cases with unusual circumstances, judges have discretion to deviate, but the length of the marriage generally still anchors the analysis.
Maintenance can also end early if the receiving spouse remarries, begins living with a new partner on a continuing conjugal basis, or if either party dies. Even long-term awards can be modified if there is a substantial change in financial circumstances, such as an involuntary job loss or retirement.
