In the United States, the average outstanding student loan debt for people who attended college is over $30,000. For many, this makes student loans one of their largest sources of debt, perhaps second only to a home mortgage. In a divorce, if you, your spouse, or both of you have student loan debt, it may factor significantly into the settlement negotiations or litigation, since separating couples in Illinois are required to distribute both marital assets and debts. However, it may not always be obvious which spouse will be responsible for the ongoing repayment of these debts.

When Are Student Loans Considered Marital Property?

You might expect that after a divorce, student loan debt will stay with the person whose education the loan paid for, but this is not necessarily the case. If you or your spouse incurred student debt before your marriage, it will likely be considered non-marital property and thus not subject to division. On the other hand, if one or both of you took out a student loan to pursue education during your marriage, any debt remaining on that loan at the time of divorce will likely be deemed marital property, especially if the reason for pursuing higher education was to increase earning potential in a way that would benefit the marriage.

How Is Student Loan Debt Distributed?

Illinois law requires the equitable distribution of marital property in a divorce, meaning that student loan debt will not necessarily be divided in half, but will be distributed fairly according to factors that apply in a case. These may include:

With many provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed back in March expiring and the economy still suffering, Congress has started negotiations on additional legislation to relieve Americans facing financial burdens. While the Senate Republicans have the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act and the House Democrats have the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act—all differing vastly in how to provide aid—there are two things that almost every politician agrees on:

• The country needs additional emergency assistance from the government to weather this storm and somehow stay afloat.

• Direct payments in the form of stimulus payments, similar to those allocated in the CARES Act, might be the quickest, most efficient way to provide citizens with immediate relief.

  ...

The division of property in most divorces is relatively straightforward, but when managing a high-asset divorce or a complex divorce, the task of dividing property and assets can get extremely complicated. The diversity of assets as well as the sheer value of each item can make these cases feel less like ending a marriage and more like settling a business dispute. In some situations, this is exactly the case — if one or both spouses own a business, the law requires it to be included in the division of property process. Whether you are a silent partner, a proactive founder and president, or anything in between, your spouse may be entitled to some of the value derived from your business upon divorce.

How Your Spouse Stakes Claim in Your Business—and How to Avoid It

To determine just how much that business is worth, both sides of the divorce case will typically conduct their own business valuation to calculate the precise monetary value of that business. If both sides cannot agree on the business’s value as well as what each spouse is owed from that value, the case might require additional business valuation litigation. In that sense, it certainly does become more involved than a typical divorce case. 

If you are the person who did all the work in creating, funding, and running the business, you may be wondering how your spouse can be entitled to any of its value in the divorce. Illinois is an equitable distribution state and recognizes separate property and marital property. Depending on the details of your business, your spouse may or may not be eligible to receive a cut.

Many studies suggest that children of all ages are actually quite resilient when it comes to coping with their parents’ divorce, transitioning to a relatively well-adjusted new living situation within a year or two. However, there are some serious causes for concern that might require adult intervention from professionals, such as psychologists, therapists, social workers, and maybe even your child’s teachers. Be sure to look for telltale signs that professional intervention may be necessary for your child to process your divorce in a healthy manner. 

3 Behaviors That Suggest Your Child Needs Professional Intervention

As with most psychological issues, the tipping point to determine whether or not your child truly needs professional help coping with the divorce is usually evident when his or her reaction to the divorce is interfering with normal functioning and development as a child. A wide array of emotional responses—from sadness to anger—will be common, but that does not necessarily mean your child needs outside help. Here are common disruptive behaviors in reaction to the divorce that might require professional intervention:

1. Persistent, Out-of-Character Trouble in School — From skipping classes to getting in fights, steep declines in classroom performance to withdrawal from school-related activities, dramatic shifts in academic behaviors are key indicators that something might not be right. While this could be the case with most children dealing with divorce, if these classroom behavior changes are prolonged and extreme, you might want to ask teachers and guidance counselors to keep a particularly close eye on them.

   ...

If you are not paying close attention to you and your spouse’s finances leading up to your divorce, during your divorce, and after your divorce, you might overlook hidden assets. It is important to keep an eye on your finances to be sure that you are receiving a fair and equitable divorce settlement. Never is this truer than during a complex divorce or a high-asset divorce. In other words, the more property and assets you have as a couple, the greater the likelihood that one or both of you might be hiding these assets. In order to be vigilant about potential hidden assets in your divorce, you need to be aware of some of the most common ways spouses can attempt to hide assets. 

5 Typical Ways Spouses Hide Assets

While some ways spouses hide assets are not very clever at all, many of them can actually be quite creative, so much so that to the untrained eye, they might make it through the divorce unnoticed. In that sense, you will want to hire a knowledgeable legal team, including a forensic accountant and maybe even a private investigator to verify all financial records. To help sharpen your hunches with regards to hidden assets, here are some typical ways spouses tend to hide assets during divorces:

1. Loans to Family and Friends — Your spouse might “lend” friends or family money with the secret understanding that such funds will be returned after the divorce is finalized.

   ...