In the state of Illinois, only marital property will be divided during a divorce. Marital property will generally include any property obtained by either spouse during the course of the marriage. Separate property will include any assets or debts that the spouses acquired before the marriage occurred as well as any gifts or inheritances acquired by a spouse during the union.
Throughout the United States, the courts have generally held that portions of personal injury settlements are just that – personal to the person who suffered a physical loss. In the event a couple divorces, there are parts of a personal injury settlement that the injury victim will likely be able to keep.
In most personal injury cases, there are a few types of compensation paid out to a victim:
- Economic damages. This type of compensation generally is meant to cover the losses that are relatively calculable, including medical bills, lost income, daily out-of-pocket expenses, etc.
- Non-economic damages. This type of compensation is meant to cover the more immeasurable aspects of a personal injury, including emotional distress, physical pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and more.
When a divorce occurs, personal injury settlements will need to be closely examined. Any compensation related to the personal loss that a person has suffered from will generally remain with the injury victim. In these cases, this would include the non-economic pain and suffering types of damages. However, to the extent that a personal injury settlement amount represents compensation for medical bills or lost income that occurred during the marriage, the settlement may very well be considered marital property.