Starting a new business - impact on property settlement and alimony?

[MovingOn]

For the past several years I have been spending a great deal of my personal time evaluating an idea I have for a new business that I would like to launch someday (hopefully within the next year).  The business itself has not been legally formed, and all I have so far are many pages of research, fairly comprehensive notes on my idea (everything from possible names for the business to marketing strategies to the names of potential employees and investors), and a domain name for a web site that I have yet to build.

Does the above constitute something that would be considered marital property (my wife and I reside in Illinois)?  If not, what do I have to do and when do I have to do it to ensure that it does not become marital property?  For example, if I simply incorporate this business before my divorce becomes final, would it then become marital property?

If it is treated as marital property but little value is placed on it or ownership of it is assigned entirely to me, and the business later becomes quite valuable, could my STBX later reopen the divorce and obtain an ownership interest in the business?

Also, I have heard of cases in which a wife supported her husband while he attended medical school, he divorced her after graduation, and she was awarded alimony based on his prospective earnings as a doctor rather than his income as a med student.  Could the same thing happen to me in this case?  My wife hasn't supported me during the time I have pursued this business opportunity, but she does work and makes roughly the same I do, so she contributes the same as I do the family's finances...

Thanks.

[livealittle]

sounds like you should see an attorney who specializes in business incorporation and marital division of property. 

It may sound funny, but a good CPA may be able to direct you to the people you need to see.  The CPA I worked for had to testify in court as an expert witness in a divorce proceeding on income/tax ramificaitons and who contributed what to the "marital income".  It's worth looking into.

If this is an idea you may want to check into copyrights too.

[Lee Borden]

Every asset of value generated by the labor of the spouses during a marriage is potential marital property, and your idea and domain name are no exception. The question is whether they have any appreciable value at this point, and my best guess would be that they do not. The world is full, and I do mean FULL, of ideas that people are convinced will make them rich one day. And most of those ideas for whatever reason don't succeed.

So if your wife wants to treat the idea as an asset, allow it, and insist on an appropriate valuation of it. If she's convinced that it's a gold mine, trade it to her for other assets. She may be ready to sell it to you for a song within a year after she tries to launch it.