How Marital Property is Divided in an Illinois Divorce

 Posted on December 30, 2025 in Asset Division

The challenges of separating two lives in a divorce are often compounded by serious financial concerns. The most common of these concerns is how marital property will be divided. Determining what marital property is and how much you’ll have left after a divorce can lead to sleepless nights and fear of the future.

These worries can be mitigated with a good divorce lawyer’s advice and negotiating skills. At the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C., our Hillside divorce attorney has 38 years of experience in guiding clients through the marital property division process. Whether your assets are simple or complicated, we can help.

What is the Difference Between Marital Property and Separate Property?

Before your divorce can move forward, you need to understand which assets and debts must be divided. To do this, you need to know exactly what is marital property and separate property.

Simply put, marital property includes assets and debts acquired by either spouse during the marriage. This could be:

• Income earned by both parties;

• Real estate purchased after marriage;

• Vehicles;

• Retirement accounts;

• Any other assets obtained using funds earned during your marriage.

Regardless of whose income was used to buy something, or who primarily used it, anything acquired while married is considered marital property.

Separate property includes:

• Assets owned before marriage;

• Certain gifts or inheritances received individually during the marriage;

• Property acquired using separately owned assets, such as a car purchased with inheritance funds.

However, separate property can become marital property through commingling. For example, a $250,000 inheritance may start off as separate property, but depositing it into a joint checking account and then using it for everyday family purchases may convert some or all of it to marital property.

How Does Illinois Divide Marital Property?

Under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act at 750 ILCS 5/503, marital property is divided equitably between divorcing spouses. This means property is divided fairly, but not always equally. You should not necessarily expect a 50/50 split.

Marriage.com cites the statistic that over 90 percent of divorces are negotiated outside of court. Whenever possible, these out-of-court negotiations are usually the best way to divide your property. If you can’t negotiate a property settlement on your own, a judge will do it for you – and neither of you may like the outcome.

When necessary, Illinois courts consider various factors when deciding how to divide marital property. This includes each spouse's finances and income, the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage and child custody arrangements. These are just a few of the things a judge can use when dividing marital property to get a result that is "just proportions" 

What Types of Property Have to Be Divided During Divorce?

Everything you have acquired together during your marriage needs to be divided. This includes: 

• Real estate such as the marital home and investment properties;

• Retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, IRAs and pensions;

• Investments and digital assets;

• Intellectual property;

• Vehicles;

• Home furnishings, electronics, appliances;

• Financial accounts; 

• Businesses.

Even family pets are considered property, though Illinois law allows courts to consider their best interests.

In addition to property, a couple’s debts are also divided, including mortgage balances, credit card balances, car loans, and other debts acquired during the marriage.

What Are the Most Complicated Parts of Property Division in Divorce?

The definition of marital property may sound straightforward, but spouses often run into trouble when the negotiating process begins.

Commingled Assets

When separate and marital property become mixed, it can be difficult to know which portion belongs to just one spouse. For example, if one spouse uses marital funds to renovate a home they owned before marriage, some or all of that home may become marital property.

Hidden Assets

Financial discovery is an important part of the asset division process, but sometimes one spouse handles a couple’s money, so the other spouse might not know about every asset.

In cases like these, one might genuinely forget to include a specific rental property or bank account. But most undiscovered assets are not so innocently "forgotten." A forensic accountant may be needed to uncover assets that one spouse has hidden to try to keep them out of the property division process.

Dissipation of Assets

Spending or wasting money after a marriage has irretrievably broken down is considered "dissipation of assets." If one spouse has wasted considerable amounts of money, the other spouse may wonder if they can get it back. An asset dissipation claim sometimes makes this possible, but these require evidence.

Do I Need an Attorney for Our Divorce’s Property Division?

Couples do not have to go to court to divide their assets. Some choose to have more control over the division process by going through alternative dispute resolution such as mediation. Still, even in mediated cases, it is important to have a divorce attorney on your side.

Negotiating asset division with your spouse can be surprisingly difficult, even if you theoretically agreed to do it peacefully. One of you may be more attached to a certain asset than you thought. One of you may feel your income entitles you to a greater share of property.

Whatever the case may be, a divorce attorney is important. You should make sure you understand what assets you may be entitled to and that you plan for both your current and future financial needs.

Contact an Oak Park, IL Divorce Attorney Today

Our Hillside divorce lawyer at the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C. has over 38 years of legal experience guiding clients through the marital property asset division process. We will work to protect your property rights and ensure your entire divorce settlement is as favorable as possible.

Call the Law Office of Vincent C. Machroli, P.C. at 708-449-7404 to schedule a no-charge legal consultation about marital property division and other divorce topics. Allow us to help you start your 2026 divorce on the right foot.