Obtaining Fair Property Division
Results With the Help of Our Lawyer
For purposes of marital property division, Illinois is what attorneys like to call "an equitable distribution" state. What this means, in plain English, is that if you and your spouse cannot agree on how to divide your property, assets and debts — a judge will divide it for you in whatever way he or she thinks is fair.
At the law offices of Scott B. Meyer, we'll give careful consideration to your individual needs and work with you to achieve fair property settlement terms as part of your divorce. To accomplish that goal, attorney Meyer will thoroughly review each of your income histories and work with accountants, appraisers, business valuation experts and other professionals, as needed, to complete a full and fair accounting of your marital assets and debts.
To learn more about the laws of equitable distribution and how we can protect your interests in property division matters, call or contact our law firm today.
What Counts as Marital Property?
The basic rule for any piece of property is this: if you had it before you got married, if you inherited it during the marriage or if you received it as a personal gift — it will likely be considered non-marital property and will not be subject to division. There are, of course, exceptions to that general rule.
For example, if you inherited a piece of real estate from a parent at some point during the marriage, but later decided to sell it and use the money for some common marital purpose — you may have lost your right to claim that money as non-marital property.
To take this example in another direction, suppose you didn't sell the property and now your spouse is trying to claim a piece of it. Can he or she do that? The answer could be "yes." Although the property is categorized as non-marital, any increase in the value of the property (from the time you inherited it until you and your spouse separated) could legitimately be claimed as part of the marital estate.
Assets subject to equitable division in Illinois include:
- Real estate
- Pensions
- Retirement accounts
- Stock holdings and stock options
- Businesses
- Other valuables (including art, jewelry, cars, livestock and more)
Talk to a Lawyer ...
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Our attorney, Scott B. Meyer, offers more than 25 years of experience and success in resolving difficult, highly contested divorce and property division disputes
Our practice covers St. Clair County and the surrounding portions of southern Illinois.
