Dividing Assets in a divorce case

In an Illinois divorce case, the law classifies assets into two basic categories:


non-marital and marital.  


Section 503 of the Illinois Marriage Act, officially known as “750 ILCS 5/503 Disposition of property and debts,” says that “Marital Property” is  “... all property, including debts and other obligations, acquired by either spouse subsequent to the marriage,” and then lists several categories of “non-marital property” under its section (a):


“(1) property acquired by gift, legacy or descent or property acquired in exchange for such property;
(2) property acquired in exchange for property acquired before the marriage;
(3) property acquired by a spouse after a judgment of legal separation;
(4) property excluded by valid agreement of the parties, including a premarital agreement or a postnuptial agreement;
(5) any judgment or property obtained by judgment awarded to a spouse from the other spouse except, however, when a spouse is required to sue the other spouse in order to obtain insurance coverage or otherwise recover from a third party and the recovery is directly related to amounts advanced by the marital estate, the judgment shall be considered marital property;
(6) property acquired before the marriage, except as it relates to retirement plans that may have both marital and non-marital characteristics;
(6.5) all property acquired by a spouse by the sole use of non-marital property as collateral for a loan that then is used to acquire property during the marriage; to the extent that the marital estate repays any portion of the loan, it shall be considered a contribution from the marital estate to the non-marital estate subject to reimbursement;
(7) the increase in value of non-marital property, irrespective of whether the increase results from a contribution of marital property, non-marital property, the personal effort of a spouse, or otherwise, subject to the right of reimbursement provided in subsection (c) of this Section; and
(8) income from property acquired by a method listed in paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection if the income is not attributable to the personal effort of a spouse. . . .”
The law then clarifies the concept of “marital property” in section (b) by saying:
(1) For purposes of distribution of property, all property acquired by either spouse after the marriage and before a judgment of dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of marriage is presumed marital property. This presumption includes non-marital property transferred into some form of co-ownership between the spouses, regardless of whether title is held individually or by the spouses in some form of co-ownership such as joint tenancy, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entirety, or community property. The presumption of marital property is overcome by showing through clear and convincing evidence that the property was acquired by a method listed in subsection (a) of this Section or was done for estate or tax planning purposes or for other reasons that establish that a transfer between spouses was not intended to be a gift."


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If you’d like to discuss your particular divorce situation, either before or after you’ve filed a case in court, please give me a call anytime, 7 days/week, at 312-293-4241.  
- Kevin Johnson
  www.divorce.nu

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