Libertyville, Illinois Divorce Settlement Attorneys

In the state of Illinois, all marital property must be divided equitably upon divorce. An "equitable division" does not mean each spouse receives the equivalent of one half of all marital property; rather, an equitable division requires that the court take into consideration such factors as each spouse's work history, earning potential, level of education, standard of living, contributions to the marriage, and personal debt when dividing marital property. The court will also take into consideration the value of any 401ks, IRAs, pensions, or stocks. Additionally, if one or both spouses owns a closely held business, the value of the business must be determined and its assets taken into account. At Schlesinger & Strauss, LLC, our attorneys defend the legal and financial interests of our clients in matters related the division of marital property and the division of marital debt.

If you are considering filing for divorce or have already been served with papers and have questions about how it will affect you financially, contact divorce settlement lawyers at Schlesinger & Strauss, LLC, today to schedule a free consultation.

High Asset Divorces and Closely Held Businesses

In many high asset divorces, there is a closely held business. If you or your spouse owns a closely held business, it must be appraised in order to determine its value. Business valuations, however, can be complicated by whether or not personal goodwill or enterprise goodwill is taken into account.

Dividing Marital Debt

When dividing marital assets, it's also essential to assign marital debt. If your name appears on any jointly held credit cards, loans, or lines of credit, you are legally bound by the contractual terms involved in each. This means that even if your ex-spouse ran up debt on a credit card you never used or drove a car that you seldom used, creditors can still initiate collection actions against you even if the debt was assigned to your ex-spouse in your divorce settlement.

For this reason, it's important to clearly define debts on jointly held accounts and include provisions for paying them off. Here, you may be able to negotiate how marital assets are ultimately divided if outstanding debt must be resolved. For instance, if your ex-spouse owes thousands of dollars in credit card bills, you may agree to pay the debt off in exchange for exempting a portion of your pension plan of equal value from being included in the division of marital property.

Contact Libertyville, Illinois Divorce Settlement Attorneys

It's important to understand how marital property will be divided, the tax implications, and how it will affect your credit score. For more information on divorce and the division of marital property and marital debt, contact divorce settlement attorneys at Schlesinger & Strauss, LLC, today.