How Marital Property is Divided in an Illinois Divorce

 Posted on March 31, 2025 in Allocation of Parental Responsibilities

Divorce can often be traumatic for both parties. The challenging emotional aspects of separating two lives are sometimes complicated by serious financial concerns, such as how marital property will be divided in the divorce. Determining what marital property is and how it is divided can lead to additional concerns, sleepless nights and fear of the future.

These worries can be mitigated with an experienced divorce lawyer’s assistance. Our Illinois divorce attorney at the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C. has 38 years of experience in guiding clients through the marital property asset division process, and advocating for the most favorable outcome for his clients. Call for a free legal consultation at 708-449-7404.

Marital Property is Divided "Fairly and Equitably" in Illinois

Marital property, which is property either spouse acquires during a marriage, includes all assets, as well as debts. Asset division in Illinois is based on an equitable property division standard. This means marital property is divided fairly, but not always equally. Thus, you should not necessarily expect the asset division in your divorce to be 50/50.

Property that is subject to equitable property division usually includes: 

• Real estate, such as the marital home and/ or investment properties; 

• Retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, IRAs and pensions;

• Vehicles;

• Home furnishings, electronics and appliances; and,

• Debts, such as mortgage and credit card balances.

A party’s separate, non-marital property is typically anything acquired before the marriage, including income and property, or a gift or inheritance received during the marriage. Separate property could also be any property excluded in a valid premarital or postnuptial agreement. However, these categories can become complicated by accidentally or intentionally commingling assets.

Marital Property Division Complications 

The definition of marital property in an Illinois divorce may sound straightforward, but complications often arise that require a skilled Illinois divorce attorney to untangle. Some examples include: 

What If Marital and Separate Property are Commingled? 

A $250,000 inheritance from a spouse’s parents is the separate property of that spouse. But suppose that spouse then deposited the money into a joint checking account with the other spouse. This action may convert the property from separate property to marital property via what is known as "commingling." Another common example of commingling is a spouse using marital funds to renovate a home that they solely owned before the marriage.

What If There are Hidden Assets? 

Sometimes one spouse handles all of the couple’s financial dealings, so the other spouse might not know about every asset in the marriage. For example, if one spouse owns many real estate investments, he or she might ‘forget’ to include a specific rental property in the divorce case. A forensic accountant may need to be hired to make sure no assets are hidden, intentionally or otherwise.

What About Large Credit Card Bills? 

Whether because of a lack of budgeting skills or an intentional desire to incur debt after filing for divorce, when one spouse racks up huge credit card bills, spouses often disagree strongly about who should be responsible for paying that debt off.

In situations like this, it is even more important that the spouse who was not responsible for incurring the debt has a quality divorce attorney, who will try to reduce the amount of credit card debt that spouse has to repay.

Contact an Oak Park, IL Divorce Attorney Today

Asset division in an Illinois divorce can often be complicated and/or stressful. Fortunately, the highly-skilled Hillside, IL divorce lawyer at the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C. can provide important legal guidance and support with marital property division. Our attorney will work diligently to obtain the most favorable outcome for you regarding your asset division situation. Call us at 708-449-7404 to schedule a no-charge legal consultation regarding marital property division, as well as other divorce-related topics.