Property division

Commingling happens when you mix your own money or property with your spouse’s during the marriage. For example, if you put money you had before the marriage into a joint account, it may no longer count as yours alone. In an Illinois divorce, this matters because...

Luxury real estate adds significant complexity to any divorce. High-value properties involve more than just a roof and walls. Illinois law requires an equitable distribution of marital assets during a split. You must understand how the state treats these massive...

Dividing property during divorce isn’t always straightforward. If you were together before your marriage was legally recognized, it can get even more complicated. Illinois uses the same property division rules for all married couples, including LGBTQ+ couples. But...

High-asset divorces have more reasons for spouses to disagree with one another. Property division can easily become more complicated, and those with higher incomes and larger marital estates may also have more shared debt to divide. Spouses preparing for a high-asset...

When spouses are going through a divorce, their marital assets need to be divided. Yet, not all marital assets are tangibly a couple’s possession at the time of the divorce. They still could be very valuable, but that full value may not be realized until later. An...

Illinois is an equitable distribution state. This means that the marital estate is divided in a just and fair manner based on several factors. One of these factors is the dissipation of marital assets by a spouse. However, most people are unaware of what it means or...

As you journey through your divorce, you will learn many lessons. One you would do well to learn early on is that it can bring out the worst in people. Whether from a place of hurt, vengeance or greed, some spouses try to hide their assets in the property division...

If you’re like many divorcing couples, your home is your most valuable shared asset. Many couples opt to sell it and split the profit so they’ve each got a nice bit of money to start their new lives.  In a seller’s market like we’re seeing now, getting a good price...

When dividing a pension plan, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order will often be used. This order specifies that someone other than the employee should benefit from the pension. This person would be the ex-spouse after the divorce. This is a useful tool because it...

No couple enters into marriage with the goal of divorcing one day -- but divorce can happen to anybody. When a couple decides to end their union, one of the questions they have to grapple with is how marital property will be divided. Like other aspects of divorce, the...