Wife filed for divorce. It is now two years later. The case is set for trial. Husband filed a counterpetition for legal separation.
He also filed a complaint in the law division against wife. He claimed that wife and others schemed to divest him of his interest in marital property. He said that they had placed the property into 2 irrevocable trusts.
He alleged that he first learned of the existence of the trust(s) during discovery in the divorce proceedings. According to husband, the creation of the trusts reduced the marital estate. They ultimately would give him a smaller property distribution and maintenance award in the divorce proceedings.
Husband wanted to consolidate both cases. Wife objected. She argued that she would be prejudiced by the addition of new claims in the divorce proceedings. It would bring delay to a case that had already been pending for 2½ years. The court agreed and denied husband’s motion for consolidation. Husband appealed.
The Appellate Court agreed with the trial court. It also denied his motion to amend his counterpetition. He had wanted to include his law division claims in it. The Appellate Court found that the untimeliness of the motion was a reasonable basis for the trial court’s decision to deny consolidation.
In re Marriage of Reidy, 2018 IL App (1st) 170054, July 31, 2018, Cook Co., 2d Div.
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