Now that your divorce is on the horizon, your spouse seems to be going through your jointly-owned property at an alarming rate. A change in Illinois law spells out the requirements for holding your spouse accountable. (See Illinois Disposition of Property law at http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=097-0941&GA=97. )
Illinois courts may look at whether one spouse has dissipated the marital assets when deciding how much property to award each spouse. As of January 1, 2013, a court may only consider a dissipation claim after you give proper notice.
A notice of intent to claim dissipation must be filed with the court clerk, served on your spouse, and given at least 60 days before trial or 30 days before discovery closes, whichever is later. (Discovery is each party’s opportunity to learn the facts about the other’s property, such as obtaining bank account records and taking testimony at a deposition.) The notice must specify a time period when the marriage began breaking down, identify which assets were dissipated, and when that happened.
The span of your dissipation claim has a time limit. You may not claim dissipation from more than five years before your divorce was filed or more than three years after you should have known about the dissipation.
The issue of marital property can be extremely tricky with many land mines along the way. If you have questions about marital property issues, you should speak with an experienced family law attorney. An experienced attorney can help present your case in its best possible light to ensure that you get your fair share.
If you have questions about this or another domestic relations matter, please contact Zachary W. Williams at 1-312-981-0851 or email zwwlawyer@gmail.com.
