Marital property is property obtained during the marriage. Although there are exceptions, this includes income earned, retirement benefits gained, and other pieces of property purchased, such as a house or stocks.
When people divorce, the marital property must be distributed. Illinois is a “Equitable Dissolution State”, meaning the marital property is not automatically divided 50/50. As such, courts will look at the number of factors when distributing marital property.
One factor is dissipation by the parties. Dissipation occurs when one spouse uses marital property for personal purposes after the marriage has started falling apart. With respect to a distribution of marital property, if one party dissipated funds, e.g., needlessly spent marital funds, a judge would be more inclined to award the other spouse a higher percentage of the remaining funds.
Other factors courts consider when distributing marital property include the length of a marriage, the economic security of the parties, the economic potential of the parties, whether one party receives maintenance from the other and each spouse’s contribution to the marital property.
As you can tell, these factors, and others, are highly fact specific. A skilled divorce attorney can apply the right facts to the right factors, to give his/her client the best outcome.
The Botti Law Firm, P.C. has been practicing family law in Chicagoland for 50 years. Please contact us at (630)573-8585 to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys.
The Botti Law Firm, P.C., conveniently located in Oak Brook and Wheaton, is a full service law firm that offers comprehensive legal representation to individuals, families, businesses and professionals from the Chicago area, including Cook, Kane, DuPage, Lake, Will and Kendall Counties, to the rest of the United States. Our experienced trial attorneys are dedicated to obtaining successful results for our clients, in both state and federal courts.
