Commingling Assets in an Illinois Divorce
Kane County Divorce Attorney
When you start a marriage, you are full of hope, and love, and sharing, and a “what’s mine is yours” spirit. When you separate or divorce, property and asset distribution can be impacted by earlier decisions around the sharing or mixing of property or assets, its commingling, especially in an “equity division” state like Illinois. If you are divorcing and need to address issues related to commingling of assets, an experienced commingling assets attorney can help sought things out. The Law Office Douglas B. Warlick has years of experience in commingling law and are well reputed throughout Illinois, and in Geneva and Kane and DuPage counties.
Commingling Assets Attorney in Geneva, Illinois
In a marriage, when you take property you own alone before marriage, and join it with marital property, you are commingling the property. Consider these examples:
- Your grandmother leaves you an inheritance of $10,000 before you were married. You take the funds after you are married and deposit them into a joint bank account for household use.
- As a single woman you purchase a parcel of real estate. Once married you put your spouse’s name on the property and essentially gift the partner a shared ownership.
When you join these assets, you “transmute” the assets from single to joint ownership, from non-marital to marital property. Since Illinois is an "equitable division" state, in a divorce, all marital property is equitably and fairly divided between the parties. The courts must then decide whether separate property has lost its separate character due to commingling.
It is possible to retrieve some non-marital value of commingled property through reimbursement of value during the divorce, if so ordered. In determining an equitable distribution of property and assets during a divorce, the separate non-marital properties are distributed to the original owner.
Contact a Skilled Divorce Lawyer
Commingling divorce assets attorney Douglas B. Warlick can help you navigate the process of asset division, and work to establish non-marital assets where possible. From our Geneva, Illinois office, we can accommodate divorce commingling assets clients throughout Illinois, including DuPage and Kane Counties. Contact our office at 630-232-9700. We provide discounted rates for an initial consultation.
