How to Split Up Assets During a Divorce in Illinois

Under divorce laws in Illinois, financial assets such as brokerage accounts along with other investments and physical entities such as a house fall under the scope of property. But before a judge moves forward with splitting up this property, the court must determine what category the property falls under. Marital property belongs to both spouses. Separate property belongs to an individual.

Generally speaking, Illinois divorce laws define marital property as property acquired or earned during the marriage. Separate property covers what each spouse acquired or earned individually before the marriage. This includes gifts or inheritance money passed down from one person to an individual spouse.

However, separate property can turn into marital property. For example, when one spouse deposits inheritance money into a joint bank account under the names of both spouses, that money becomes marital property.

But after the court distinguishes between marital and personal property, the judge moves forward with breaking up marital property.

Under Illinois divorce laws, a judge will divide marital assets and physical property based on equitable distribution. This means the court will split property fairly. Keep in mind that this does not mean a straight 50/50 division based on the value of property and assets. Instead, the judge will weigh certain factors. We have listed some examples below:

Contribution of each spouse to the increase or decrease in value of marital property
Length of the marriage
Financial resources of both parties

Unlike with some states, however, misconduct in the marriage will not be among these factors. So if one spouse committed adultery, that doesn’t give the plaintiff a bigger stake in the marital property

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