Cars, Trucks and Motorcycles In An Illinois Divorce

An average person’s assets are usually relatively simple.  The average person may own a house, the average person might have a retirement account but the average person almost certainly owns some kind of automobile. So, what happens to a car, truck or motorcycle in an Illinois divorce? Is An Automobile Marital Property In An Illinois Divorce? If a car, truck or motorcycle was purchased prior to the marriage, that automobile will stay with the person who purchased the automobile after the couple divorces.  The date of purchase can be easily proven by a receipt, registration or car title. Any asset that gets purchased during a marriage is presumed to be marital property.  “Purchased during the marriage” means anytime during the marriage.  That period of time where purchased property becomes marital property includes the period after a couple has separated or filed for divorce.  The day the presumption of marital property stops is the day the divorce is finalized and the judgment of dissolution of marriage is filed with the domestic relations court. Marital property is divisible by Illinois divorce courts. But, how do you divide a car, truck or motorcycle in an Illinois divorce? In 95% of all cases, you don’t divide an automobile even if it’s marital property.  There are several reasons why dividing an automobile (the value of the automobile, really) never happens in an Illinois divorce. Automobiles and Secured Debt In An Illinois Divorce Most automobiles are paid for by financing. That is, when the automobile is purchased, the car buyer takes out a loan to pay for the car. This loan is secured by the car itself. So, if the car buyer does not pay the loan in a timely manner, the automobile financing company can pick up the car with a tow truck.  So, there is almost always a loan attached to an automobile.  The loan cannot be separated from the automobile until the loan is paid off. This creates some weird math.  The moment the car is driven off the car dealer’s lot, the car’s value drops…but the loan amount does not.  So, a car is perpetually owned at a value less than the car loan attached to that car. So, in a divorce, a car really has zero net value so long as there is a car loan attached to that car.  If the loan has been paid off, then the car may […]

from Russell D. Knight | Family Lawyer Chicago https://rdklegal.com/cars-trucks-and-motorcycles-in-an-illinois-divorce/