Going through a divorce can be financially and emotionally tumultuous. Dividing property between partners is one of the most challenging elements of the divorce process. In Illinois, distributing assets and debts, including family homes, retirement accounts, and personal belongings, requires legal assistance and understanding. A Bolingbrook property division lawyer can help you understand your rights and options.
Vahey Law & Mediation, LLC takes pride in delivering customized legal solutions to meet each client's individual needs. We provide innovative and strategic legal guidance while responding effectively to your needs throughout your legal journey. Our extensive experience allows us to represent your interests in all legal situations, whether inside or outside the courtroom.
With the median household income in 2023 at $107,552 and the median home value at $295,500, property division in Bolingbrook comes with large financial stakes.
Illinois operates under a different legal framework than community property states regarding asset division. In Bolingbrook, property division cases are typically handled in the Will County or DuPage County court system, where judges follow Illinois' equitable distribution principles.
Illinois applies the legal principle of "equitable distribution" to divide property during high asset divorce proceedings. A judge can distribute marital assets and debts in divorce cases without splitting property down the middle.
The distribution of property occurs according to fairness, taking into account each couple's unique circumstances. For example, the court may rule in favor of one spouse receiving the marital home while the other receives more of the retirement savings.
In Bolingbrook, couples who are seeking a divorce typically attend divorce proceedings at the Bolingbrook Branch Court, located at 375 West Briarcliff Road, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Other cases proceed at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet. People can find both emotional and legal support through Woodson Counseling & Consulting Services and DivorceCare support groups in Naperville during the divorce process.
In Illinois, the divorce rate in 2022 was 1.1 per 1,000 people, which signifies a notable decline from previous years. This was lower than the national average, which was about 2.4 per 1,000 population, according to the CDC. While it appears that divorce rates are declining due to the higher median income in Bolingbrook, property division assistance still stands as a prevalent need.
Before property can be divided, all property must be categorized as either marital or separate property. Separate property includes items acquired from one spouse either before the marriage, as a gift, or through an inheritance. This also includes property obtained after the couple legally separated.
Marital property consists of assets that spouses obtain while they are married. It encompasses both assets and debts that occurred throughout the marriage. All property obtained during the marriage is automatically assumed to belong to both spouses unless evidence shows it must remain separate property.
Marital property includes assets such as real estate, bank accounts, pension funds, and retirement accounts. Assets that appear to belong to one spouse alone, such as a house titled solely in their name, may be classified as marital property when acquired during the marriage.
In some cases, separate property can become marital property, such as in instances when commingling occurs. An example would be if one spouse opened a bank account prior to marriage, but both spouses deposited and withdrew funds from it throughout the marriage. Another example would be if the property was transferred to another spouse’s name after the marriage, such as adding their name to the title of the house.
Most people expect divorce to involve tough conversations about the house, the car, maybe the savings account. And yes, those conversations happen. But here's what catches a lot of people off guard: the deeper financial picture. The retirement account you've been quietly building for 20 years. The business you poured your soul into. The debt you didn't even know your spouse was racking up. That's where things can really go sideways if you don't have someone in your corner who knows what they're doing.
At Vahey Law & Mediation, LLC, this is exactly the territory we work in every day.
Think of your 401(k) or pension like a slow cooker, you've been adding to it for years, and it's been quietly doing its thing. The problem is, under Illinois law, whatever accumulated during the marriage is generally considered marital property. That includes the portion of a pension or 401(k) that grew while you were married, even if it's sitting entirely in your name.
Dividing these accounts the wrong way is like cracking open that slow cooker too early and losing everything inside. You need a specific legal instrument called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order i.e. QDRO. According to the IRS, a QDRO is a court order that directs a retirement plan to pay out a share of benefits to a former spouse. And here's something most people don't realize: the IRS confirms that QDRO distributions made to a former spouse are not subject to the standard 10% early withdrawal penalty even if you're under 59½. That's a meaningful financial protection, but only if the QDRO is drafted correctly.
Get it wrong, and you could be handing over money to the IRS that was meant to fund your retirement. We make sure that doesn't happen.
Say you started a small landscaping company in Bolingbrook before you got married. You brought it into the marriage, so it's yours, right? Not necessarily. If the business grew in value during the marriage, whether because of your spouse's support at home, joint finances, or shared decision-making, that increase can be treated as marital property subject to division.
And how do you put a dollar figure on something like that? It's not like checking a stock price. Business valuation is part science, part art. Revenue, assets, goodwill, earning potential, it all factors in. We bring in financial experts and certified business appraisers who can produce a defensible, accurate fair-market valuation. Because walking into a negotiation without knowing what something is truly worth is like playing poker without looking at your cards.
This is one of the harder things to talk about, but it happens. One spouse starts quietly moving money around before a divorce is filed. Maybe they underreport business income. Maybe they "loan" money to a friend who happens to be in on it. Maybe expensive purchases suddenly appear on a separate credit card you didn't know existed.
If something feels off, trust that feeling. Through the legal discovery process, we can subpoena financial records, bank statements, and tax filings. When the trail gets complicated, we bring in forensic accountants who are specifically trained to follow the money. People think they can hide assets, but financial records have a way of telling the truth. Every withdrawal, every transfer, every inconsistency leaves a trace.
Here's something that surprises people: equitable distribution in Illinois applies to debt just as much as it applies to assets. Mortgages, credit card balances, car loans, if they were acquired during the marriage, they're on the table. And Illinois courts look at who accumulated the debt and who actually has the capacity to pay it back.
So if your spouse spent years running up credit card balances on things that only benefited them, you shouldn't be left holding that bill. That's not fair. And "fair" is exactly what the court is trying to achieve, not an automatic 50/50 split, but a distribution that actually reflects what's equitable given your specific situation.
We fight to make sure the debt picture is as clear as the asset picture.
Here's a scenario that plays out all the time: Two people agree to divide their investment portfolio in a divorce. On paper, it looks like a clean, even split. Then someone actually sells their shares and suddenly there's a capital gains bill that nobody planned for.
The good news is that the IRS generally doesn't treat transfers of property between divorcing spouses as taxable events at the moment of transfer, this protection comes from Section 1041 of the Internal Revenue Code. But, and this is a big but, the person who receives an asset also inherits its original cost basis. So if you receive a stock portfolio that was purchased for $100,000 but is now worth $400,000, and you sell it, you're on the hook for capital gains taxes on that $300,000 difference.
The IRS also provides some relief when it comes to the family home. Each spouse can exclude up to $250,000 in capital gains from the sale of a primary residence or up to $500,000 if the home is sold while the couple is still technically married and filing jointly, provided the ownership and residency requirements are met.
This is why property division isn't just about what something is worth today. It's about what it'll actually be worth after taxes. We think about both so you're not left with an asset that looks good on paper and costs you dearly when it's time to actually use it.
When dividing property in Bolingbrook, Illinois, judges consider many factors to determine what the greatest course of action would be to facilitate an equitable distribution. Some things they consider include:
Illinois is a no-fault divorce state. Marital misconduct, including infidelity, does not affect property division except when it leads to dissipation of assets.
In Bolingbrook, the assets that cannot be touched in a divorce are “separate property.” In Illinois divorce proceedings, separate property assets like pre-marital property and individually received inheritances or gifts usually remain with one spouse. Separate property that becomes mingled with marital property or transformed into marital property becomes eligible for division.
No, a wife is not automatically entitled to half your business if you divorce in Illinois. A business obtained during marriage in Illinois typically falls under marital property classification, which allows for division during divorce proceedings. The worth of the business can be determined by several elements, which allows a judge to assign part of it to your wife, yet this doesn’t guarantee she will receive half the value.
Property lawyers are typically known as family law attorneys or divorce attorneys when they handle property division in divorce cases. Attorneys who focus on certain business valuations or real estate transactions might be known as property division attorneys or real estate attorneys, depending on their specific area of legal work.
Illinois law does not enforce a minimum marriage length requirement to claim half of the marital property. The court determines a fair distribution of property through equitable distribution, which considers marriage duration and individual contributions instead of splitting assets equally. Even if one spouse did not contribute financially, the court will consider other contributions, such as child-rearing or homemaking.
If you’re facing a divorce and have property division issues to work through, an attorney at Vahey Law & Mediation, LLC can help you. We can help you fight for equitable distribution. Contact us today for more information.
