It is NOT uncommon for one spouse to solely control marital assets. This happens when one spouse puts bank accounts, retirement accounts, and investment accounts solely in his/her name. Also, house deeds and car titles. Despite the name on the property, these assets belong to BOTH spouses. They must be protected.  There cannot be a […]

Divorce is never easy. The whole process is long, daunting, expensive, and stressful. Once you have decided that your marriage is over, it may be hard to start the process (e.g. hiring an attorney, filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage). Most importantly, you have to be ready. While there are many personal factors that […]

What happens when divorcing spouses cannot agree on the distribution of marital property?  Illinois divorce judges distribute marital property “equitably,” not always 50/50. Two important factors are 1) which spouse contributed to the acquisition of the property, and 2) the duration of the marriage. If the marriage is short, judges favor the spouse who purchased […]

Gifts received by a spouse during a marriage are the non-marital property of the spouse receiving the gift. A gift can be from one spouse to another or from someone outside of the marriage to one spouse. At divorce, each spouse keeps their non-marital property, including all gifts that were received during the marriage. Generally, […]

A single person files taxes individually. A married couple  file taxes in one of two ways: 1) married filing jointly, or 2) married filing separately. If spouses are married on December 31 of a given year then they can file either married filing jointly or separately for that year. Therefore, if spouses are going through […]

Each spouse going through a divorce must complete a financial affidavit, also known as a comprehensive financial statement. The affidavit is a standardized form which is used in every county in Illinois. The blank affidavit can be found here. An affidavit is like sworn testimony in court in that the person filling it out affirms […]

In a divorce a spouse may be motivated to spend marital funds so there is nothing left for the other spouse. Consequently, a divorce judge must preserve the marital estate so that it can be distributed equitably. A common method for preserving a marital estate is through an injunction.  An injunction is defined as a […]

Generally, a party to a lawsuit is entitled to due process. Due process is fairness in a judicial proceeding. This usually occurs through appropriate notice to the party subject to the judicial proceeding as well giving that party an opportunity to prepare for and participate in the proceeding. In divorce cases, under appropriate circumstances, a […]

At divorce, marital property is distributed equitably. Although Illinois is not a community property state where each spouse receives 50% of the marital property, each spouse will usually receive a large percentage of the marital estate under an equitable distribution model. Any income earned during a marriage is marital property. This includes income earned while […]

The fundamental goal of business valuation is to determine the fair market value of the business. Although this sounds simple, it doesn’t provide much help on how to determine the value. It is a mistake to believe that businesses have a single value and valuation will arrive at one indisputable value.  Valuation is not an exact science.  There are many methods used to arrive […]