Will the Court Divide My Inheritance if I File for Divorce?

When you are thinking about divorce and learning more about property division in Illinois, we know that you are likely to have many questions. One common set of questions we often receive concerns the classification of marital property for purposes of distribution. For example, are there any kinds of property acquired after the date of the marriage that can be classified as separate property? Or, for instance, are there situations in which property acquired by one of the spouses many[...]

What You Need to Know Before Filing for Divorce

For many people in Chicago who file for divorce, there is a significant amount of relief when the divorce is finalized. At the same time—as with any other major life decision—there are often things newly divorced individuals wish that they would have done during their divorce or that they would have known. In other words, people learn lessons during their divorce about how they would have approached a certain issue or problem if they were to encounter it again. A[...]

Changes to Illinois Spousal Maintenance Law in the New Year

Beginning on January 1, 2019, the way that spousal maintenance payments are taxed under federal law will change. This change is likely to have a significant financial impact for divorcing couples in Chicago and throughout the state of Illinois. Recognizing that the changes to the federal tax law under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will change the way that couples in Illinois are planning for divorce in terms of the financial effect, the state legislature amended the Illinois[...]

Some Grey Divorce Issues in Illinois

Partially because the marriage rate has declined, the divorce rate has dropped somewhat since 2000. The number of over-50 divorces, or grey divorces, has bucked this overall trend, however. This figure has doubled since 1990. Longer and more active lifespans may have something to do with the grey divorce phenomenon. Today, a 50-year-old person may expect to live another 30 years, and most of those years will be active ones. That is a long time to remain in a bad[...]

Five Important Property Division Factors in Illinois

When it comes to property division, the Prairie State is an equitable division jurisdiction. “Equitable” is not necessarily the same thing as “equal,” but there is a presumption that the divorce must not be an unfair financial burden for either party. So, to unequally divide property, a Cook County judge must be convinced that one or more of the following factors is an issue. Furthermore, the judge must also hear evidence that the proposed unequal division would not be unfair[...]