For most couples, determining which assets are marital property and which are individual property is fairly straightforward. Many couples own a house, a couple of cars, and shared bank accounts, all of which are probably marital property. However, for some couples–especially those with high net worth, family inheritance, or inadequate prenuptial agreements–questions about which assets are marital property can become very contentious. 

This process is complicated by the fact that some spouses will try to claim property they know is not theirs, or hide property that is technically marital property to try to enhance their financial position after a divorce. If you are in this situation and want to ensure you get a fair division of marital property, an experienced Illinois divorce attorney with the assistance of a professional forensic accountant may be able to help you. 

Asset Tracing

When a couple buys a home together, that asset’s history is usually very simple and there is a paper trail to prove it. Joint signatures on a loan agreement, payments recorded on bank statements, or a title in both spouses’ names makes it easy to track, or “trace,” the asset’s history. 

Ask any parent and they will tell you that a convenient benefit of having children is being able to claim them as a deduction on a tax return. Married parents receive a significant financial break when they file jointly and claim their child as a dependent. But after divorce, only one parent can claim a child every year on their taxes. So how do parents know which parent can claim a child? And is this a big enough issue to include in financial negotiations? 

Deal with Exemptions in Your Divorce Decree

Parents often forget to deal with taxes during the divorce process. However, parents who do not establish who will be claiming the child as a dependent may be setting themselves up for an unpleasant surprise if they both file. Unless parents specify who will claim the child as a dependent, the IRS considers the parent with whom the child resides for the majority of the year to be the parent who can claim the child. This may not be ideal for one or both parents.

Fortunately, spouses who proactively deal with this issue in their divorce decree can create an arrangement that makes sense for them. Parents can decide to switch off. For example, during even years, the mother claims the child; during odd years, the father makes the claim. Or, parents who have more than one child can divide the dependents so each parent claims one or two children. Divorcing spouses can make this conversation part of a broader financial arrangement that includes an agreement about marital asset division, spousal support, and child support. 

Divorce is always stressful, but it can be especially difficult when one spouse is deployed. Spouses of military members who wish to pursue divorce can still do so, but it is important to understand how military divorce is different. Here, we explore three things divorcing military members may want to consider before filing for divorce. 

Choosing a Venue

Usually, a person can only get divorced in the county where they live, but active service members often have several options when it comes to the location in which they get divorced. These may include: 

• The state where the military member is stationed 

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Many parents will go out of their way to avoid making child support payments. Sometimes, they will work even harder to avoid meeting their legal obligations than they would if they simply took a job and made the payments. Unfortunately, for the parent who needs the child support, this can mean many trips to see a judge to try to get the child support order enforced. Sometimes, judges can find the non-compliant spouse, hold them in contempt of court, and give them fines or jail time. 

However, in extreme cases, some parents will actually flee the country because they do not want to make child support payments. Leaving the United States does not relieve a parent of their child support obligations, but it can make recovering payments much more difficult. If you have a former partner who owes you child support and who may have fled the country, this blog may be helpful to you. 

Recovering Child Support From a Parent Who Has Left the Country

Before child support can be recovered from anyone, there must be a legally enforceable child support order from an Illinois family court. Usually, these are established during divorce proceedings, but they can also be made for unmarried parents once paternity has been established. Under certain circumstances, a person may be determined to be a child’s parent and ordered to pay child support by default - especially if he or she avoids location or fails to respond to court summons.

Many spouses find themselves at loggerheads during the asset division part of their divorce. The truth is that, no matter how well-intentioned they may be at the beginning of the process, spouses usually struggle to find a division of marital assets that feels fair. And it is not just couples who insist on fairness in their divorce; Illinois law requires assets to be divided equitably. 

Although frustration or anger during the asset division process may make spouses want to conceal assets from each other, doing so can carry serious consequences. If you are getting divorced and have considered hiding your assets, think again. Here are three major consequences that could be faced by someone who hides assets before or during a divorce. 

Contempt of Court and Perjury

If a spouse is in a deposition and lies about property ownership in front of a judge, the spouse can face several charges. Lying in court is called “perjury,” which is a punishable crime. A judge may also find the spouse to be in criminal contempt of court for impeding or obstructing the court, which in serious cases can result in criminal charges and a trial. If someone has been accused of hiding assets and they refuse to testify in court, they may also be held in contempt. Criminal convictions will be placed on a spouse’s criminal record.