Dividing Debt in Illinois Divorces

 Posted on May 29, 2012 in Uncategorized

The equitable division of property and assets is a primary consideration in most Illinois divorces. However, an equally important aspect of many divorces is the division of marital debts. Generally, if debts were accrued prior to the marriage, they will be considered non-marital debts and will not be relevant to the divorce. However, marital debts include everything from home mortgages, credit cards, car loans, and any other debt established during the marriage - and can be very complex to divide in a fair and equitable manner.

There are numerous things to consider when allocating debt to each party during divorce proceedings. For instance:

• Are the debts marital or non-marital?
• Which names are on the account?
• When the debt was incurred
• The value of the debt
• The value of the property associated with the debt (home, car, etc.), and who will retain possession of this asset.
• The purpose of any marital credit card debts

In some divorces, parties may try to hide certain assets, to avoid losing all or a portion of them to their soon-to-be-ex spouse. While it is never a good idea to intentionally conceal assets during a divorce, the laws regarding this are also complex. An experienced divorce lawyer can help you make the best decision for your situation.

If the divorcing parties cannot agree on how to divide their debts, the judge handling their divorce will make a ruling. An experienced DuPage County divorce lawyer can work with the other party and their attorney to attempt to agree to a fair resolution without court involvement. This saves everyone time and money. If you're divorcing in DuPage County, Illinois, don't hesitate to consult an Illinois divorce attorney to discuss the division of your marital debts as well as any other aspect of your divorce.