In re Marriage of Paul

Published: 11/29/2025 • 11 min read
By Jonathan D. Steele
In re Marriage of Paul

Summary

Case Summary: In re Marriage of Paul - The Second District reversed the trial court's $10,000 attorney fee award because the petitioning spouse failed to file a compliant petition under 750 ILCS 5/508(a) with adequate evidentiary support, demonstrating that procedural deficiencies in fee petitions—not substantive merit—can be outcome-determinative on appeal. The court simultaneously affirmed lien allocation to the spouse with "unique liability" for business-related tax obligations and judgments, reinforcing that documenting sole involvement in debt-generating activities is critical to avoiding marital estate absorption of individual financial failures.

# In re Marriage of Paul: Strategic Dissection of Lien Allocation, Income Imputation, and the Fatal Attorney Fee Error That Just Handed Your Opposition a RoadmapThe opposing counsel in your high-asset dissolution just made the same procedural blunder that cost John Paul his attorney fee victory in Kendall County. The Second District's July 2025 ruling in *In re Marriage of Paul*, 2025 IL App (2d) 240466-U, isn't merely another unpublished opinion gathering dust—it's a tactical blueprint exposing precisely where family law practitioners collapse under procedural weight and where sophisticated litigants seize control of property division narratives.**Your spouse's attorney thinks they understand lien allocation in Illinois divorce proceedings. They don't. This case proves it.**---

What You Need to Know About In re Marriage of Paul

Last month, a DuPage County attorney called our office in a panic. Her client's spouse had just cited the Paul decision in a motion to reallocate $380,000 in business liens—and she'd never heard of the case. That phone call cost her client three weeks of scrambling and $12,000 in emergency motion practice fees.The *In re Marriage of Paul* decision reshapes how Illinois courts approach three critical dissolution issues: **lien allocation between divorcing spouses**, **income calculation for business owners**, and **attorney fee petition requirements**. Understanding this ruling isn't optional for anyone navigating a complex Illinois divorce—it's survival.---

The Lien Allocation Power Play: Why John Paul Lost $450,000 in Leverage Before Trial Even Started

Jennifer Paul's inheritance dissipation claim—$450,000 allegedly squandered by John—evaporated before the trial court could even examine it. She abandoned the claim. That strategic retreat, or catastrophic error depending on your vantage point, represents the kind of pre-trial positioning failure that transforms winnable cases into negotiated surrenders.

What Jennifer Paul's Abandoned Dissipation Claim Reveals

When your opposition alleges dissipation of $450,000 and then fails to pursue it at trial, you've witnessed either:In the Paul dissolution, John carried liens from multiple tax authorities plus a judgment lien from Chad Brody. The trial court assigned these exclusively to John, and the Second District found no abuse of discretion in this lien allocation approach. Here's what that means for your case: the court examined John's "unique liability" for these obligations—his business involvements, his bankruptcy history, his financial decision-making patterns—and concluded the marital estate shouldn't absorb his individual financial failures.

2024-2025 Lien Allocation Statistics in Illinois Divorce Cases

Illinois circuit courts allocated liens to the responsible spouse in approximately 73% of contested dissolutions involving business-related tax obligations, according to Cook County domestic relations data from Q1 2025. That percentage drops to 58% when the non-responsible spouse had signature authority or received direct benefit from the underlying transaction.**The strategic takeaway:** Document your spouse's sole involvement in lien-generating activities *before* trial. Bank signature cards, tax return preparer statements, and business formation documents become critical exhibits.---

Income Calculation Warfare: The $11,260 Monthly Baseline and What Your Financial Discovery Must Prove

John Paul claimed monthly income of $11,260 from employment and pension sources. Jennifer, earning approximately $60,000 annually as an associate account manager, faced the classic high-asset dissolution disparity: the entrepreneurial spouse with complex income streams versus the W-2 employee with transparent compensation.The trial court's income finding survived appellate review because the evidence supported it. That phrase—"supported by evidence"—is where 80% of income imputation disputes are won or lost before trial.

The Five-Step Income Verification Protocol for Complex Earners

  1. Subpoena Three Years of Business Bank Statements (Not Just Tax Returns)Tax returns reflect what your spouse's accountant wanted the IRS to see. Bank statements reveal cash flow reality. In *In re Marriage of Berbos*, 2024 IL App (1st) 231892, the First District upheld income imputation based on unexplained deposits totaling $127,000 over 18 months that never appeared on Schedule C.
  2. Demand QuickBooks or Accounting Software AccessIllinois Supreme Court Rule 214 production requests should specifically identify accounting software databases. In Q4 2024, Cook County domestic relations judges granted forensic accountant access to QuickBooks files in 67% of contested motions when the requesting party demonstrated discrepancies between filed returns and disclosed financial statements.
  3. Cross-Reference Lifestyle Against Declared IncomeJohn Paul's financial situation included "significant liabilities, bankruptcy, and various business involvements." That profile—complex business interests combined with claimed financial distress—triggers what forensic accountants call the "lifestyle audit." If your spouse claims $11,260 monthly but maintains a $1.2 million residence, three vehicles, and country club membership, the math doesn't reconcile.
  4. Obtain All K-1 Schedules from Business EntitiesPassive income from S-corporations, partnerships, and LLCs flows through K-1s. Many sophisticated earners "park" income in business entities, taking minimal distributions while building equity. The Second District has consistently held that undistributed business income may be imputed for support calculations when the controlling spouse has discretion over distributions. See *In re Marriage of Tegeler*, 365 Ill. App. 3d 448 (2d Dist. 2006).
  5. Trace Pension and Deferred CompensationJohn's pension income formed part of his $11,260 baseline. Pension valuations require present-value calculations using appropriate discount rates. The 2024 Pension Rights Center data indicates Illinois defined benefit plans average 6.8% annual returns, but individual plan performance varies dramatically. Your forensic expert must obtain the actual plan documents, not summary descriptions.
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The Attorney Fee Reversal: Procedural Compliance as Strategic Weapon

The trial court ordered John to pay $10,000 toward Jennifer's attorney fees. The Second District reversed. **The reason should terrify every family law practitioner who's ever filed a fee petition without bulletproof documentation.**

The Fatal Errors in Jennifer Paul's Attorney Fee Petition

The 508(a) Compliance Checklist Your Counsel Must Execute

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Attorney Fee Petitions in Illinois Divorce

The average contested attorney fee petition in DuPage County (2024 data) involves 4-6 hours of attorney time for preparation and 2-3 hours for hearing. At $450/hour average rates for experienced family law counsel, that's $2,700-$4,050 in fees to pursue fees. **The Paul reversal demonstrates that inadequate preparation wastes those resources entirely while handing your opposition an appellate victory.**---

Real Cases: How Lien Allocation and Income Imputation Play Out in Illinois Courts

Case Study 1: In re Marriage of Dhillon, 2024 IL App (1st) 230847

Facts: Husband operated multiple gas stations through LLC structures. Wife alleged income underreporting of $340,000 over four years based on cash business characteristics.

Outcome: Trial court imputed additional income of $6,200/month based on forensic accountant testimony comparing reported income to industry profit margins for similar-volume stations.

Dollar Impact: Monthly support increased from $4,100 to $7,800, representing $44,400 annually in additional support.

Strategic Lesson: Industry benchmarking through qualified experts survives appellate review when the opposing party cannot explain margin discrepancies.

Case Study 2: In re Marriage of Kofink, 2024 IL App (2d) 230612

Facts: Wife sought contribution to $187,000 in attorney fees accumulated during 3-year litigation involving business valuation disputes.

Outcome: Trial court awarded $95,000 contribution; appellate court affirmed, finding husband's litigation conduct—including discovery obstruction and multiple continuance requests—justified enhanced contribution.

Strategic Lesson: Document every discovery failure, every missed deadline, every obstruction. These become fee petition exhibits that survive appellate scrutiny.

Case Study 3: In re Marriage of Heroy, 365 Ill. App. 3d 765 (1st Dist. 2006)

Facts: Husband, a physician, claimed income of $180,000 while maintaining lifestyle suggesting $400,000+ earnings. Wife's forensic accountant traced unreported income through credit card statements and lifestyle analysis.

Outcome: Court imputed income of $385,000 for support calculations, resulting in maintenance award of $8,500/month versus husband's proposed $3,200.

Dollar Impact: Over 7-year maintenance term, difference exceeded $445,000.

Strategic Lesson: Credit card forensics reveal lifestyle truth that tax returns conceal.

Case Study 4: In re Marriage of Abu-Hashish, 2023 IL App (1st) 220543

Facts: Husband transferred $890,000 to overseas accounts during dissolution proceedings. Wife sought dissipation finding and constructive trust.

Outcome: Trial court found dissipation of $890,000, added amount to husband's share of marital estate, and imposed constructive trust on identified assets.

Strategic Lesson: International asset tracing requires immediate action. The court noted wife's counsel obtained emergency TRO within 72 hours of discovering transfers, preserving jurisdiction over traceable assets.

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Your Step-by-Step Action Plan for Complex Illinois Divorce

  1. Immediate action: Compile 36 months of personal and business bank statements, obtain copies of all tax returns including K-1s, and create comprehensive asset inventory with acquisition dates and funding sources
  2. Within 48 hours: Issue litigation holds to all business entities, specifically identifying email servers, accounting software, cloud storage, mobile devices, and social media accounts linked to business activities
  3. Before your next court date: Identify all liens, judgments, and encumbrances with documentation tracing each obligation to its origin—this evidence determines whether liens are allocated to your spouse or shared by the marital estate

References

Full Opinion (PDF): Download the full opinion

For more insights, read our Divorce Decoded blog.