Illinois residents going through divorce know that deciding who gets what can get messy. Dividing marital property is more complicated than it may seem; there’s more to consider than just the house, car or bank account. Less obvious assets like tax refunds, benefits received from current or past employers such as 401ks or stocks, and even money loaned that may be returned in the future should be accounted for. It is important to be thorough when valuing assets and factoring in future dollar values.
The more assets one has, the more important it is to take extensive inventory of all properties and assets. Take it from Jamie McCourt, who claims she was snookered in her divorce agreement because she failed to pay attention to the family finances. The former owner of the Dodgers, who has a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown, a law degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s in business administration from MIT said she could not have been more ignorant or naive about her financial situation and paid dearly for it in her divorce. She concedes that her personal ‘smarts’ did not translate into being able to handle everything – sound legal advice may have turned the tide.
An experienced and knowledgeable legal professional can help you to make sense of important financial strategies, valuing assets, and other confusing elements of marital distribution so you can emerge confident that you have been treated fairly in a divorce. Illinois is an Equitable Distribution state, which means a judge may play a greater role in deciding how to fairly divide marital property – this can only be achieved if all assets are on the table and a strategy is in place. Contact the Law Offices of Ronald L. Bell for help today.
Source: LA Times, “Jamie McCourt on lessons learned from divorce, the Dodgers and pink slips,” Steve Dilbeck, January 13, 2016.