St. Charles Divorce Lawyers

Divorce Attorneys Guiding You Through Property Classification, Maintenance, and More in St. Charles, Illinois

In Illinois divorce cases, courts no longer ask who was at fault for a marriage ending. What your divorce will actually turn on is narrower and more technical. Which of your assets are classified as marital or non-marital? Will spousal maintenance need to be paid by one spouse? Do you need to address child custody?

At A. Traub & Associates, our St. Charles divorce lawyers focus on getting these issues right from the start, ensuring that the outcome of your case reflects what you are actually entitled to. Attorney Angel Traub has spent more than 20 years on these cases. For her work, she has been recognized as an Elite Lawyer since 2018 and a Super Lawyer since 2020.

Illinois Recognizes Only One Ground for Divorce

You do not have to prove adultery, cruelty, or abandonment to get a divorce in Illinois. You typically have little to gain by proving that any of these issues were responsible for the end of your marriage. Illinois recognizes a single ground for divorce: irreconcilable differences that have caused an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Your spouse does not have to agree that the marriage is over. If the two of you have lived separate and apart for at least six months before judgment is entered, the law treats that requirement as conclusively satisfied.

To file for divorce, you or your spouse must have lived in Illinois for 90 days, and nothing requires you to wait before filing. Knowing what the divorce process will ask of you, and roughly when, is the first thing we will walk you through. We will help you avoid uncertainty about the calendar and make sure you understand the procedures that will be followed.

Marital vs. Separate Property in a Kane County Divorce

In an Illinois divorce, a couple will be required to divide their marital property. Before any property division happens, your assets will be sorted into marital and non-marital categories. Non-marital property is generally what you owned before the marriage and what you received by gift or inheritance. It will be assigned back to you rather than divided with your spouse. Everything else acquired during the marriage is presumed to be marital, regardless of whose name is on the title.

Once marital property is identified, it will be divided in what the state's laws call "just proportions." That means a fair, but not necessarily equal division. To determine what is fair, a court may weigh many factors, including:

• Each spouse's contribution to acquiring or preserving the marital estate, including contributions as a homemaker
• Asset dissipation, meaning wasting or improperly spending marital property, by either spouse
• The value of the property assigned to each of you
• The length of the marriage
• The economic circumstances of each spouse when the division takes effect
• The tax consequences of the division

A high-net-worth divorce often involves complex assets such as businesses, investments, retirement accounts, real estate, or valuable separate property. Identifying, valuing, and tracing those assets early can shape how property is divided later in the case.

Determining Spousal Maintenance as Part of the Divorce Process

Courts do not award spousal maintenance automatically. A judge will first decide whether it is appropriate by weighing several things, including:

• The income and property of each of you
• Your earning capacity in the present and the future
• Any earning capacity you gave up while devoting time to the household
• The standard of living established during your marriage
• The length of your marriage
• Your age and health

When your combined gross income is under $500,000, and the paying spouse does not owe support from a prior relationship, Illinois uses a guideline formula. The amount is determined by taking 33 and one-third percent of the paying spouse's income and subtracting 25 percent of the receiving spouse's income. The award cannot leave the receiving spouse with more than 40 percent of the couple's total combined income. The length of maintenance depends on how long you were married. If you were married for 20 years or more, maintenance may last as long as the marriage, or it may continue indefinitely.

Your judgment must also state what kind of award it is, meaning fixed-term, indefinite, reviewable, or reserved. That label determines whether the issue can come back to court later, and it is worth as much attention as the dollar figure. Support can also be ordered temporarily while your case is pending, which matters if you are the spouse who needs support.

Settlements and Litigation Call for Different Preparation in an Illinois Divorce

If you and your spouse agree on the terms, an uncontested divorce can usually be resolved faster and with fewer costs than going to trial. You will still need to ensure that there is a full financial disclosure by both spouses, and a judge will need to approve the terms of a settlement. Our attorneys can help you work toward an agreement.

When an agreement is not realistic because assets have been hidden or other types of disputes cannot be resolved, the case may proceed to litigation. Our lawyers can provide the representation needed to succeed in a high-conflict divorce, and we will strive to protect your interests as we prepare for a divorce trial.

Some issues can be changed after divorce. Post-divorce modifications may be available for orders like child support or modifiable maintenance if the proper legal requirements have been met, which will usually involve a demonstration of a significant change in circumstances. Property division usually cannot be changed after the judgment.

Contact Our St. Charles, IL Divorce Attorneys Today

The services provided by A. Traub & Associates are built on communication, collaboration, client commitment, and compassion. Our more than 150 five-star reviews reflect that approach and the importance we place on keeping clients informed throughout their cases. Contact our St. Charles, Illinois divorce attorneys at 630-426-0196 to schedule a consultation and find out how we can help you.