Enforcing Illinois Property Division Orders

Hold an ex-spouse in contempt of court when they don't comply with agreed-on property division.

In Illinois, property division is decided through an equitable division, a system with the goal of fairly dividing property and assets after a divorce. Once the judgment is rendered, the agreement has to be honored by both parties, regardless of how they personally unfair they may feel it is.

If you believe there to a mistake or contradiction in the ruling, you have 30 days to bring that to a court's attention, it will not be ignored or changed automatically. Often if circumstances change, it can be brought before a judge to modify the order itself.

Ultimately, if a spouse willfully disobeys the order, then that spouse is in contempt of court and there are a number of ways the court can enforce the property award including fines and even jail time.

If your spouse is willfully ignoring a court order, then contact an attorney to file for contempt of court.