If you’re the one bringing home most (or all) of the income in your household, divorce can feel like stepping into a minefield, especially if you’re the one initiating it.
This isn’t about guilt or power dynamics. This is about facts: when you’re the breadwinner, the financial stakes can be higher, and the legal landscape in both Illinois and Michigan doesn’t ignore that.
So let’s talk about what you need to know.
Spousal Support: You May Be Writing The Checks
In both Illinois and Michigan, courts can award spousal support (AKA “maintenance” or alimony) based on several factors. One of the biggest is income disparity.
So yes, if you make significantly more, you could end up paying spousal support. The longer the marriage, the more likely that is, especially in Illinois, where maintenance duration is based on a sliding scale of years married. Cross the 20-year mark, and you could be looking at payments for as long as the marriage lasted or even indefinitely.
That doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. Judges also consider things like:
- Each spouse’s earning capacity
- Sacrifices made during the marriage (like staying home to raise kids)
- Health and age
- Prenuptial agreements (more on that in a second)
If you want to keep support payments limited or avoid them altogether, having solid documentation of both parties’ financial history is crucial.
Division Of Assets: It’s Not Always 50/50
Illinois and Michigan are both equitable distribution states. That means the court doesn’t just split everything in half. They split things fairly (not equally), but fairness is very subjective.
If you built most of the marital estate through your earnings, that doesn’t mean you get to keep all of it. Courts look at how those assets were acquired, and yes, even if your spouse didn’t earn a paycheck, their contributions to the household can still entitle them to a share.
If you co-mingled premarital funds or if your spouse helped grow your business indirectly, you could be on the hook for part of it.
Kids: Your Income Affects Parenting Plans, Too
Being the breadwinner may influence more than just dollars. Courts want to ensure that children of divorce maintain stability. If you’re seeking primary custody, be prepared to show how you’ll balance work and parenting. If your spouse is the primary caregiver, your higher income might factor into child support or parenting time logistics.
Prenups: If You Have One, Use It
If you signed a prenup before the marriage, this is its time to shine. A well-drafted prenup can help clarify what’s marital property, what’s not, and how support will be handled.
Illinois and Michigan both enforce prenuptial agreements as long as they were entered into voluntarily, with full disclosure, and without unconscionable terms.
If you don’t have a prenup, this might be your sign to consider one before a second marriage. Seriously.
Bottom Line
Being the breadwinner doesn’t mean you’re doomed in divorce, but it does mean you need to be strategic.
Know what you’re walking into. Gather your financial records. Understand your rights. Talk to someone who gets the nuances of divorce in Illinois and Michigan.
Our Chicago, IL divorce lawyer won’t just get you through it. They’ll help you protect what you’ve built and move forward with clarity.
Merel Family Law serves families in Illinois and Michigan with clarity, compassion, and real-world solutions.
Written By Jonathan Merel
Jonathan Merel is an experienced attorney who advocates for his clients in all divorce and family law proceedings, including settlement negotiations and trials. Jonathan founded Merel Family Law in early 2009 after working for many years at another family law firm in Chicago. Through his hard work and unwavering dedication to his clients, Jonathan has quickly grown the firm to become one of the premier divorce and family law firms in the Chicagoland area.
Jonathan has a great deal of experience in obtaining favorable outcomes for his clients in multi-million dollar marital estates and contested custody suits (custody is now known as the allocation of parental responsibilities in the State of Illinois). His ability to settle heated divorces and custody disputes has gained him a great deal of respect from fellow attorneys and judges within the Chicagoland legal community. When settlement is not a viable or reasonable option, Jonathan’s experience as a zealous litigator in the courtroom has produced outstanding results for his clients.
