CourtListener opinion 3147828

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No. 1-10-1452

 FIFTH DIVISION
 March 31, 2011

 No. 1-10-1452
_____________________________________________________________________________

 IN THE
 APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS
 FIRST JUDICIAL DISTRICT
_____________________________________________________________________________

IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF ) Appeal from the
 ) Circuit Court of
JAMES A. ANDERSON ) Cook County, Illinois.
 )
 Petitioner-Appellee, )
 )
 ) No. 99 D 06640
 and )
 )
PATRICIA M. ANDERSON, ) The Honorable
 ) Raul Vega,
 Respondent-Appellant. ) Judge Presiding.
 )
 )
 )
____________________________________________________________________________

 JUSTICE JOSEPH GORDON delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.
 Justices Smith and Howse concurred in the judgment and opinion.

 OPINION

 Respondent Patricia Anderson appeals from an order from the circuit court of Cook

County terminating her maintenance and denying her petition for rule to show cause for indirect

civil contempt. Respondent contends that the trial court erred in terminating her maintenance

because petitioner James Anderson failed to establish the existence of a substantial change and

that, in any event, petitioner has sufficient income and assets to continue to pay maintenance to
 No. 1-10-1452

respondent, while respondent is financially dependent. In addition, respondent contends that the

court erred in not finding petitioner in contempt for his noncompliance with the court's previous

order denying petitioner's motion to modify maintenance. While the trial court properly found

that petitioner showed a substantial change in circumstances since the entry of the previous order

on maintenance, it erred in taking into account respondent's eligibility for public assistance when

determining whether maintenance should be terminated.

 BACKGROUND

 Respondent and petitioner were married on February 3, 1951. On November 4, 1988, a

judgment of dissolution of marriage, which incorporated a marital settlement agreement, was

entered by the superior court of the State of California, County of San Diego, and on June 1,

1992, that judgment was enrolled in the circuit court of Cook County. At the time the judgment

was entered, the parties had been married for 37 years and had no minor children. Also at that

time, petitioner was self-employed in sales and expected to a net income of $105,000 for the year

of 1988. Respondent was unemployed and had no income from wages or business.

 Pursuant to the judgment, petitioner was awarded a vacation home located in Minoqua,

Wisconsin, one half of the proceeds from the sale of the marital home located in San Diego,

California and six individual retirement accounts (IRAs) held in his name. Respondent was

awarded one-half of the proceeds from the marital home, four IRAs held in her name,

Southwestern Bell bonds, and an equalization payment in the amount of $8,483 to be paid from

petitioner's share of the proceeds from the marital home. In addition, the judgment awarded an

equal division of petitioner's retirement account from McGraw-Hill Publishers pursuant to a

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 No. 1-10-1452

qualified domestic relations order. Lastly, respondent was awarded spousal support in the sum of

$3,000 per month continuing \until the death of either party