Buffalo Grove Divorce And Home Ownership Lawyer

To begin the process, the court will determine what kind of child support, custody and alimony agreements must be reached. The primary objective is to ensure that everyone involved in the divorce, including the children, is provided for.

Next, the court will assess how much property is involved in the division that needs to be made between the parties. Generally, houses and vehicles are the focal point of property division proceedings. Families that own and operate businesses must determine how those business interests will be divided and how business operations will proceed following the split.

Other accounts and assets are often overlooked in these divisions. These include retirement accounts, pensions and investment portfolios. These holds are often valuable and require skilled and knowledgeable guidance in their division.

We will assist in obtaining appraisals and valuations of all property, homes, businesses, accounts and other holdings. The value is generally assessed at the date of the divorce.

If the couple decides not to keep a certain piece of property, such as a home, we can help to liquidate those holdings and determine how the proceeds will be divided or used to pay other expenses.

We also assist with issues of dissipation. If one spouse has spent significant money on something unrelated to the marriage, the court can rule that he or she owes the other spouse for half of that amount.

Marital debt is considered marital property and must be considered during the divorce process. Marital debt is incurred while the parties accumulate marital property. Sometimes, if possible, it is a good idea to pay off marital debt during the divorce process. If that is not an option, then you must decide which party is responsible for which debt. Unfortunately, if you or your spouse takes on debt that you don’t pay off, the other party may become responsible to pay the debt themselves. The lender who you owe the debt to, whether it be for a house mortgage, car loan, home equity loan, etc. does not care that you are divorced. They will go after either one of you once, regardless of who the court says is responsible for the debt.

Therefore, it is important to include in the agreement, what action can be taken against the party that does not pay their share of marital debt.

If the court is going to divide the debt between the parties, the court will certainly consider who benefited most from the debt and who incurred it. If one party bought something that the other party did not benefit from, then the first party may end up being completely responsible for the debt.

Commingling takes place when, for example, one party puts marital money into a non-marital account. The commingling creates a right of reimbursement from the non-marital account to the marital estate, to pay back the marital portion. Take the example of a car that one party owned prior to the marriage. Let’s also suppose that the car has a small loan balance remaining due. If, during the marriage, you pay off his loan balance, you have added a marital share to the once-non-marital asset (the car). The car is still the asset of the party who originally owned it, but the marital estate is entitled to reimbursement. The unique facts of the reimbursement are determinative of whether there will be reimbursement at all.

Transmutation refers to situations in which non-marital property is converted into marital property during a marriage, and vice versa. There is no right of reimbursement or need for it, as the entire asset has become marital. Take the example of one party owning a house prior to the marriage, so that the house in a non-marital asset. during the marriage, the parties paid the mortgage, taxes, upkeep and utilities, etc. with marital money from their jobs. The house slowly takes on the identity of a marital asset, and is no longer a non-marital asset. The unique facts of each case will determine the end result.