Some people receive alimony (spousal maintenance) from their exes during or after a divorce. Per Illinois Statutes Chapter 750 Families, Section 5/504 (b-1)(1)(A), the alimony amount is calculated by taking 33 1/3 percent of the payor’s net annual salary minus a quarter of the payee’s net annual salary.

As a payee, you are probably wondering whether it’s better for you to collect alimony on a monthly basis or as a lump sum. Read over the benefits both options offer.

Monthly alimony advantages

Here are some perks of receiving monthly alimony:

The divorce process can be stressful and aggravating sometimes, but you will get through it if you stay focused on your goal: a reasonable settlement that respects your property and parental rights and sets you up well long-term.

Ending an irretrievably broken marriage can be emotionally painful and psychologically turbulent at times. But once it's over, you will be free of the problems that plagued your relationship. For many people in Wheaton, starting the next phase of their lives in this way is a huge relief. They can now focus on their own happiness and raising their children.

Improved work life?

Another benefit that some divorced experience is an improvement in their work life. In a survey published in a scientific journal, 39 percent of divorced people said that ending their marriage positively affected their work. Another 44 percent said that divorce had had a negative effect. Still, the fact that the figures were so close suggests that the effect of divorce on your career depends on individual circumstances.

Everyone you know likely has a social media account, and you may too. You and your friends post pictures about what you eat, where you went on vacation and who you’re spending time with. You may even make comments and have long conversations on online forums.

While the internet is a great place for people to connect, it has a large drawback if you’re having a divorce. If your soon-to-be-ex-spouse finds something they don’t like online, then they could create issues during the divorce process. Your spouse could use what they find online to draw out the process or demand more assets or alimony.

The best thing you can do about protecting your online information and interactions is to stay offline. Completely ignoring your social media account can prevent your spouse from using it against you. But, if you still want to stay online during the process, then you may need to consider taking protective measures going forward. Here’s what you should know:

It can be difficult to track divorce statistics. For instance, people sometimes say that half of all marriages end in divorce. But stats like this account for the entire length of the marriage. A couple could stay married for 30 years and still get divorced eventually, counting toward this 50%, but that wouldn’t be clear for three decades.

As a result, these rates are usually calculated simply by looking at the number of people getting divorced per 1,000 people living in that area. This allows you to see which states and locations have higher divorce rates than others. There is quite a lot of variety across the U.S., and you may be wondering where Illinois ranks.

1.6 divorces per 1,000 people

First and foremost, Illinois actually ranks as one of the states with the lowest divorce rate, at just 1.6 divorces for every 1,000 people in the state. This is notably lower than nearby states like Michigan, at 2.1, or Missouri, at 2.7.

Most people do not try to hide assets during a divorce, knowing that doing so can get them into a difficult legal position. If the court orders them to fully disclose the assets that they own and they intentionally leave things out or try to manipulate the numbers, they can be in violation of that court order.

However, there are those who decide that they are going to hide assets so that their spouse gets 0% of those assets, rather than the percentage allocated by the court. It’s important for you to know how this may happen and what tactics they could use so that you can see any warning signs in advance.

Examples of tactics people use

It is certainly important to remember that every case is unique and you know your spouse better than anyone else. That being said, here are some examples that people have used in the past, which you may want to look for: