In re Marriage of Taylor, 2021 IL App (2d) 190315-U

- Case citation and parties
In re Marriage of Taylor, 2021 IL App (2d) 190315‑U (2d Dist. Aug. 17, 2021) (Rule 23 order). Petitioner‑Appellee: Carol Taylor. Respondent‑Appellant: Gary Taylor.

- Key legal issues
1. Whether various retirement accounts (TIAA‑CREF IRA, FAM custodial/real‑estate IRA, Old Second IRA, Allmerica IRA, PSP/profit‑sharing proceeds) were marital or nonmarital property.
2. Whether premarital funds that were transferred, rolled over, and intermixed with marital funds were sufficiently traceable to preserve a nonmarital character, or whether commingling/transmutation converted them to marital property.
3. Whether the trial court’s classification was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

- Holding / outcome
The appellate court affirmed. The trial court’s classification of the husband’s disputed retirement assets as marital property was not against the manifest weight of the evidence.

- Significant legal reasoning (summary)
- The husband opened, rolled over, transferred, and pooled funds among multiple accounts over many years (Allmerica, Fifth Third/Nationwide/Downers Grove IRAs, PSP, TIAA, FAM). Expert accounting testimony for the wife showed multiple transfers, investments, dividend reinvestments, and inability to identify balances as of the marriage date or to trace specific funds through later transactions.
- The wife's expert concluded premarital and marital monies had been “combined and blended” multiple times (in the PSP and later in the TIAA/FAM structures), and tracing was impossible. Where nonmarital funds are commingled such that identity cannot be reliably traced, Illinois law recognizes transmutation into marital property.
- The appellate court applied the manifest‑weight standard and gave deference to the trial court’s factual determinations about tracing and commingling; it found sufficient evidentiary support for the trial court’s classification.

- Practice implications for family law attorneys
- Preserve documentation: maintain contemporaneous account statements, rollover paperwork, subscription/purchase records, dividend reinvestment logs, and tax records to establish premarital balances as of the marriage date.
- For claimants of nonmarital status, timely forensic accounting is essential; delays and gaps in records materially weaken traceability.
- When defending or attacking commingling claims, use experts who can quantify marital contributions and show whether dilution/transfers preserve or destroy identity.
- Expect courts to treat extensively commingled retirement/real‑estate custodial accounts as marital absent clear, traceable segregation; litigate for specific findings (amounts traceable vs transmuted) and preserve reviewable record.
- Consider remedies (e.g., allocation by percentage, equitable adjustment) and be prepared to contest valuation dates and expert methodologies.