Non-marital property according to the Illinois law can be defined as the following:
• Any property acquired by either spouse as a legacy, inheritance or gift
• Any property exchanged for another property acquired by any of the means mentioned above or
for property acquired before marriage
• Property acquired by the spouse after legal separation has been granted
• Property excluded from division if the two parties have signed a legal agreement (prenuptial
agreement)
• If judgment on the dissolution of the marriage results in property being awarded to awarded to
either spouse
• If the property was acquired by either spouse before the marriage
• Any increase in the value of property by any of the methods mentioned above
• Lastly, any income from property acquired by any of the above methods especially if the
income cannot be attributed to the personal effort of anyone in the marriage.
As mentioned above, a good example of non-marital property is inheritance. If a spouse inherits
money before or during the marriage and chooses to keep it in a self-titled account, this is
outright non-marital property. It is good to know that in some cases, some actions might deem
non-marital property to be marital, but it is entirely dependent on the actions of the owner. This
is referred to as transmutation. The law regarding this particular aspect might be very complex
and that is why it is important to seek legal counsel in the event of such issues. Choose a divorce
attorney who is well-versed in Illinois divorce law to avoid any further complications during a
dissolution of the marriage.
