Some couples have far more assets than others to divide when they divorce. Those with business assets, retirement savings and real property holdings may find it quite difficult to negotiate a property division settlement.
Both spouses may want to retain the same assets, or they may want to use the divorce process as a way to vindicate themselves. They may focus on securing as much of the marital estate as they can as a way to punish their spouse or feel like they win at the end of the divorce.
Disputes don’t just relate to how couples address their assets but also to what assets they have to divide with one another. If either spouse, or a couple as a unit, acquired international assets during their marriage, then are those personal holdings vulnerable during an Illinois divorce?
Equitable division rules apply to all marital property
Assets do not need to physically be in Illinois with the spouses to be part of the marital estates. Instead, what matters is how spouses acquired those assets and if they use marital property to manage or maintain them.
Maybe the spouses share a vacation home abroad. They have likely used marital income to help pay for the property or its maintenance. If one spouse transferred some of their income to an international bank account or invested it in an offshore business, those assets can also be part of the marital estate. Illinois has an equitable distribution statute. Both spouses should receive a fair portion of marital assets when they divorce. Spouses can either negotiate their arrangements with one another or they can ask a judge to divide their property.
A judge dividing marital property uses inventories of assets provided by the spouses to guide the decision-making process. International assets can be part of the marital estate that a judge or the spouses have to divide. Those international assets could also potentially influence property division proceedings if there is evidence that one spouse used international transfer to hide their income or resources from the other spouse or the courts.
Understanding the law and reviewing the ins and outs of one’s marital estate are both important for those preparing for complex divorces involving valuable property. After all, international assets can be a significant complicating factor in a high-value Illinois divorce.