Will I Get to Keep My House, My Car, and My Property After My Divorce?

When you are going through a divorce, we know how important it can be to have a clear idea about how your property will be divided and whether you will be able to retain assets that are especially important to you. If you want to keep your house, your car, and your other remaining assets after your divorce, will you be able to do so? The answer to that question depends upon a number of factors, including how your property is classified, what an equitable distribution of marital property looks like, whether you can enter into a marital settlement agreement with your spouse, and whether you are willing to compromise.

How is the Property Classified?

One of the first things to consider if you want to keep your house, your car, and other property after your divorce is how that property will be classified. Under Illinois law, marital property is distributed according to equitable distribution in a divorce case while separate property is not divided. Generally speaking, separate property includes all assets and debts acquired prior to the date of the marriage, as well as property acquired through a gift, inheritance, or with separate property after the date of the marriage. Prenuptial agreements can also identify specific assets or debts as separate property that will not be divisible in a divorce. Otherwise, remaining assets and debts are likely to be classified as marital property.

If your house, car, and other property are all separate property, they will not be divided in your divorce and you will get to keep them. If any of those assets are classified as marital property, however, then the court will need to determine what a distribution of marital property looks like based on specific factors of your marriage and circumstances.

Negotiating a Settlement Agreement

If you really want to keep your house, car, and other assets that are classified as marital property, you may need to try negotiating a marital settlement agreement with your spouse. Yet in order to do so, you will need to be willing to compromise and to give up your potential rights to other assets that ultimately may be more valuable in the long run, such as retirement accounts or investments.

If there is not much marital property beyond the house and the car, you should not assume that you will be able to retain that property since equitable distribution will require that all marital assets and debts are divided between the spouses in a manner that is fair to both of them. An experienced Orland Park property division lawyer can evaluate your case and can discuss the distinctions between negotiating a marital settlement agreement and having the court divide marital property equitably between the parties.

Seek Advice from Our Orland Park Divorce Lawyers

Do you have questions about retaining certain property in your divorce? From determining the appropriate classification of the property and its valuation to helping you to negotiate a favorable marital settlement agreement, one of our experienced Orland Park divorce attorneys can help.  Contact Demetrios N. Dalmares & Associates, Ltd. to learn more about our services.