When becoming involved in any legal proceeding, it is essential to understand all of the terminologies used in your case. This can be difficult for many people as their case becomes increasingly complicated. During a divorce, there are many steps that must be taken to dissolve a marriage fully. In the scenario that a divorce is contested or becomes complex, new language between attorneys and judges may appear, such as dissipation of assets. To fully understand your divorce case, advocate for yourself, and ensure your legal rights are protected during the divorce, it is vital to understand dissipation and how it may affect you. 

What is Dissipation in Divorce?

Dissipation is defined as the squandering or wasting of money, property, or other essential resources. Dissipation in divorce can happen in many ways, but it has one underlying theme — a partner using shared assets for an individual benefit during the divorce. Too often, when dividing marital assets during a divorce, a lawyer or the other partner will uncover hidden or squandered assets. 

Common examples of dissipated marital assets include:

Divorces are hard, and it can be even harder to part with some of the assets you collected over the course of a marriage. Spouses choosing to file for a divorce will have to divide their shared property, which can be a highly volatile situation if the partners are unwilling to agree. It is important to be okay with parting with some of the assets you have come to love such as your house, the flat-screen TV or even the car your spouse bought for you when dividing marital assets during a marriage dissolution. But, how do partners agree upon who keeps the dog? 

Shared Marital Property

After a while, pets become another member of the family. Your kids love them, you catch your so-called pet-hating spouse throwing the ball for them, and you even find yourself cuddling with them from time to time. Dividing property during a divorce is incredibly difficult. But how do you divide up another member of the family?

Depending on when your pet was purchased and by who, the process of deciding who keeps the dog may be much easier. If your dog was purchased by your spouse prior to the marriage, your spouse owns the dog and is considered their individual property. Similarly, if you purchased your pet before you married your spouse, the dog belongs to you and would follow you during a divorce. The process gets a bit trickier if you purchased the pet together in a marriage because, in this case, the pet is shared marital property. 

The decision to file for a divorce from your spouse can be a difficult process. Most couples try to make their marriage work by seeking out help from professional experts, implementing new communication strategies or attempting alone-time during a separation. However, if a marriage is no longer healthy or suitable for a couple, the spouses may decide it is time to file for a divorce. Despite media portrayals, divorces can be an easy process if the decisions are uncontested. It is in both spouses’ best interests to create a divorce checklist prior to filing for a divorce to make the process easy and fast for everyone involved. 

What Does the Divorce Process Look Like in Illinois?

Divorces in Illinois are no-fault divorces, meaning that there is no at-fault party. So, even if your spouse was unfaithful or unpleasant during your marriage, this information is not seen as relevant when creating a divorce decree. Instead of gathering documents and proof of infidelity, mistreatment, or misunderstanding between you and your partner, it would be much more time-efficient to begin gathering all of the required documentation needed for a swift, amicable divorce. 

Creating Your Checklist 

The state of Illinois requires certain financial and legal documents to move forward during a divorce. In an effort to prepare, both parties should begin to gather the following information and documents:

The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, recently announced that tax season will commence on January 24, 2022. With tax season right around the corner, you may be wondering what you can expect when filing taxes after a divorce. Today, we are going to discuss the ways by which a lawyer can assist you as you set out to file as head of household after a divorce. 

What Does it Mean To Be the Head of the Household? 

Many people assume that filing as head of household means that you were the breadwinner. While this is not necessarily untrue, the IRS defines the head of household filing status in a much more detailed way. In order to file as head of household, the IRS takes the following details into consideration: 

• You are legally either a U.S. citizen or resident. 

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The decision to get a divorce is never one that is made with ease. In fact, for a lot of people, divorce is viewed as the very last option because of how intertwined the lives of a married couple are and how difficult it can be to separate everything after being married, finances included. 

While not every couple chooses to combine their finances, money matters are often a major topic of conversation during many divorces. From figuring out how to allocate the funds in bank accounts to deciding how to divide other assets like investments, there are many financial complexities to sort out during the divorce process. 

Tax Debt is Considered Marital Debt 

So, what happens to the money that you do not have? In other words, how does tax debt work when a couple that owes money to the IRS decides to end their marriage?