Marriage of Chapman Hardeman

2026 IL App (1st) 242023-U

• Court: Appellate Court of Illinois
• Decided: January 8, 2026
• Docket: 1-24-2023
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

2026 IL App (1st) 242023-U

FOURTH DIVISION Order filed: January 8, 2026

No. 1-24-2023

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1). ______________________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIRST DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________

In re MARRIAGE OF BETTY CHAPMAN ) Appeal from the HARDEMAN, ) Circuit Court of ) Cook County. Petitioner-Appellant, ) ) No. 2022 D 001259 v. ) ) Honorable JON HARDEMAN, JR., ) Jill Rose Quinn, ) Judge, presiding. Respondent-Appellee.

JUSTICE QUISH delivered the judgment of the court. Presiding Justice Navarro and Justice Ocasio concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: In its judgment of dissolution of marriage, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in awarding the husband an equal interest in the marital home in lieu of maintenance when the marriage was of long duration, both parties were elderly and had limited incomes, the evidence showed that both parties contributed to the value of the property, and the parties had no other significant marital assets.

¶2 Petitioner Betty Chapman Hardeman (“Betty”) appeals a circuit court judgment dissolving

her marriage to respondent Jon Hardeman, Jr. (“Jon”), specifically challenging the court’s decision No. 1-24-2023

to award each party an equal interest in their marital home. For the following reasons, we find no

error in the court’s judgment and affirm.

¶3 In February 2022, Betty filed a petition for dissolution of marriage alleging that she and

Jon had irreconcilable differences. Jon filed a counter-petition and the case proceeded to trial. The

parties did not have a court reporter at trial and instead rely on a bystander’s report to serve as the

report of proceedings. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 323(c) (eff. July 1, 2017) (allowing the appellant to prepare

a bystander’s report from the best available sources, including recollection, to serve as the report

of proceedings when no verbatim transcript of a proceeding is available).

¶4 According to the bystander’s report, the evidence at trial established that Betty and Jon

were married on December 4, 1999. The parties were elderly and in fragile health at the time of

trial. They each have adult children born prior to their marriage and do not have any children

together. In 2005, the parties purchased a house in Chicago. It was titled in Betty’s name and her

name alone appears on the deed, loan documents, and mortgage. Betty testified that she and her

family provided the entire down payment, but neither party was able to produce any documentation

regarding the sources of the down payment funds. Betty further testified that until 2013, she alone

made payments on the mortgage, while Jon testified that he made contributions to the mortgage

until 2013. Neither produced documentation of their individual contributions to the mortgage

payments. The monthly mortgage payment was $2,177 at the time of trial. Betty reported that her

income from a pension and Social Security was $4,100 per month, while Jon testified that he relied

solely on Social Security and SNAP payments of $1,052 per month.

¶5 Jon was evicted from the home pursuant to a domestic violence order of protection in 2013,

and Betty was given sole possession of the property. Jon then moved to Georgia, and the parties

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had no contact between 2013 and 2023. According to the report, “[a]t all times Betty and her

family, her daughter, and children, resid[ed] in the house and made all payments on the house.”

¶6 Following the trial, on April 19, 2024, the circuit court dissolved the parties’ marriage. The

court found that the marital residence “was purchased during the marriage, with presumptively

marital funds and is Marital Property,” and that Betty “was unable to provide clear and convincing

evidence sufficient to overcome the presumption that property acquired during the marriage is

non-marital.” In determining the distribution of the marital home, the court discussed the factors

in section 503(d) of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (Act) (750 ILCS

5/503(d) (West 2024)) and the evidence adduced at trial as to the relevant factors. Regarding each

party’s contributions to the down payment, the court found:

“[Betty’s] testimony that the source of the down payment for the property - that it came

from her children - was not credible. [Betty] had previously alleged in her Response to

([Jon’s]) Motion to Bifurcate that the source of the down-payment was her own funds.

[Betty] produced no documentary evidence of the source of her down-payment. [Jon]

claimed that he supplied half the down payment and a significant amount of ‘sweat equity’

in repairs to the house. He also testified that [he] contributed to the household expenses.

[Jon] did not substantiate his claim of monetary contribution to the down payment.”

¶7 Regarding maintenance, the court found that “[n]either party is in a position to pay the

other maintenance.” The court further noted that Jon “could be a candidate for maintenance

because of the disparity of income between the parties and in light of the length of the marriage,”

but it instead determined that, “[i]n lieu of a maintenance award, *** the allocation of equal

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interests in the equity in the marital residence is more appropriate.” Accordingly, the court awarded

each party 50% of the equity in the marital residence to be held as tenants in common, explaining:

“[Betty] has made all the payments on the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and

maintenance on the real estate since the separation of the parties in 2013; however, [Betty]

has had one hundred percent of the use and enjoyment of the marital residence to the

exclusion of [Jon] as well as being entitled to one hundred percent of the rents for the

marital residence.”

¶8 Betty filed a motion to modify the judgment, arguing that the court’s decision to award

each party 50% of the marital home was against the manifest weight of the evidence. In particular,

Betty disputed the court’s finding that she was entitled to all of the rents for the home, claiming

that there was no evidence that she had collected any rent. She also argued that it was not equitable

to award Jon half the home when he was forced to leave the home because of his violent conduct

and she alone paid the mortgage, taxes, and insurance. Betty also asserted that it was unnecessary

for her to provide evidence documenting her contributions to the home when the property was

titled in her name, Jon conceded that she paid at least half of the down payment, Jon’s limited

income would not have afforded him the ability to contribute to the home’s expenses, and Jon

could not show any contribution as a homemaker. Betty also disputed the court’s finding that the

parties had been married for 23 years and instead contended that the marriage effectively ended

when the parties separated in 2013.

¶9 The circuit court denied Betty’s motion, explaining that in making its ruling, it considered

the pleadings, argument, and evidence, as well as applicable law. In relevant part, the court first

rejected Betty’s arguments that it erred in applying the law regarding Jon’s contributions to the

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marital residence, noting that it considered and weighed the respective earning capacities of the

parties, the parties’ failure to provide documentation substantiating their respective monetary

contributions, and Jon’s contribution of “sweat equity” to the home. The court also held that it did

not err in applying the law regarding Betty’s ability to collect rent, stating that it “did not rely on

rental payments,” “Betty had the exclusive right to collect rent on the second unit of the Marital

Residence,” and “Betty allowed her daughter to live in the second unit of the Marital Residence

without collecting rent.” With respect to Betty’s argument as to the length of the marriage, the

court rejected it, finding that while the parties may have suffered irreconcilable differences leading

to the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage in 2013, they did not legally separate and there

was no judgment of dissolution. This appeal follows.

¶ 10 Betty challenges the circuit court’s decision to award each party a 50% interest in the

marital home, asserting that the court erred in applying and weighing several statutory factors.

Specifically, she argues that the marriage was effectively much shorter than the court found it to

be, she made a greater contribution to the property than Jon, there was no evidence that she had

ever rented the property, and the award could negatively affect her by activating a due-on-sale

clause in the home’s mortgage.

¶ 11 First, we address Betty’s request to strike Jon’s brief because he failed to cite the record in

his statement of facts. Betty is correct that Jon failed to comply with Illinois Supreme Court Rule

341(h)(6) (eff. Oct. 1, 2020), which requires a statement of facts to include “appropriate reference

to the pages of the record on appeal.” Although an appellee is not required to provide a statement

of facts (see Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(i)), when he does include one, assertions of fact must be supported

by references to the record. Hurlbert v. Brewer, 386 Ill. App. 3d 1096, 1100 (2008); see also Fryzel

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v. Miller, 2014 IL App (1st) 120597, ¶ 25 (“Compliance with Rule 341 is mandatory ***.”).

However, because the facts of this case are not complex, Jon’s statement of facts generally repeats

what was presented in Betty’s brief and the bystander’s report, and Jon’s failure to cite the record

does not hinder our review of this appeal, we decline to strike his brief. Rather, we will instead

“disregard any fact or claim not supported by the record.” Hurlbert, 386 Ill. App. 3d at 1101.

¶ 12 We must next address the standard of review. Betty asserts that we should reverse the

court’s division of the marital home if that ruling is against the manifest weight of the evidence,

yet she cites no case supporting that assertion. Jon seems to agree, but confusingly conflates the

manifest weight of the evidence and abuse of discretion standards. For support, he cites a case

applying the manifest weight standard to “the trial court’s classification of property as marital or

nonmarital.” In re Marriage of Heroy, 385 Ill. App. 3d 640, 669 (2008). However, Betty does not

contest the classification of the property and agrees it is marital property. Rather, she contests only

the division of the property, and the correct standard of review for the division of marital property

is abuse of discretion. In re Marriage of Jones, 187 Ill. App. 3d 206, 222 (1989). Applying that

standard, we will determine whether the court’s ultimate decision to award each party a 50%

interest in the marital home, “in view of all the circumstances, so exceeded the bounds of reason,

that no reasonable person would take the view adopted by the trial court.” Id.

¶ 13 The house, which was acquired by the parties during their marriage, is presumed to be

marital property. See 750 ILCS 5/5-503(b)(1) (“For purposes of distribution of property, all

property acquired by either spouse after the marriage and before a judgment of dissolution of

marriage *** is presumed marital property.”); In re Marriage of Brill, 2017 IL App (2d) 160604,

¶ 52. Section 503(d) of the Act sets forth 12 factors the court considers when dividing marital

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property “in just proportions.” 750 ILCS 5/5-503(d). Of those 12 factors, five are relevant to the

present case: “(1) each party’s contribution to the acquisition, preservation, or increase or decrease

in value of the marital or non-marital property,” “(4) the duration of the marriage,” “(5) the relevant

economic circumstances of each spouse when the division of property is to become effective,” “(8)

the age, health, station, occupation, amount and sources of income, vocational skills,

employability, estate, liabilities, and needs of each of the parties,” and “(10) whether the

apportionment is in lieu of or in addition to maintenance.” Id. Betty contends that a proper

application of these factors shows she is entitled to a greater than 50% interest in the marital

residence.

¶ 14 First, Betty argues that, because the parties separated in 2013, the duration of the marriage

was not 23 years, as the circuit court found, but was, effectively, 14 years. However, she cites no

authority for the proposition that the “duration of the marriage,” as provided in section 503(d)(4)

of the Act, can be anything other than the actual timespan between the marriage and dissolution or

addressing what impact this change might have on our analysis. Betty’s failure to cite any authority

or to properly develop this argument results in forfeiture of the argument on appeal. See People ex

rel. Illinois Department of Labor v. E.R.H. Enterprises, 2013 IL 115106, ¶ 56 (“[A] court of review

is entitled to have the issues clearly defined and to be cited pertinent authority.”); see also Ill. S.

Ct. R. 341(h)(7).

¶ 15 Next, Betty contends that she made a much larger contribution to the purchase and

preservation of the marital home and therefore, was entitled to a larger share of that property. See

Jones, 187 Ill. App. 3d at 225 (“[W]hen one spouse makes a greater contribution to the marital

assets, the court may be justified in awarding him or her a larger share of the marital property.”

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(citing In re Marriage of Bentivenga, 109 Ill. App. 3d 967, 971 (1982))). Specifically, Betty asserts

that she alone supplied the down payment, her name appears on the loan paperwork and deed, and

she made all payments on the mortgage. She also argues that Jon made no contributions, either

financially or as a homemaker, apart from what she calls “his own self-serving testimony as to

work he did around the house.” However, while Betty dismisses Jon’s testimony about his work

on the house, the circuit court did not and instead accepted Jon’s claims that he contributed a

“significant amount of ‘sweat equity’ in repairs to the house” and to household expenses. The court

further observed that neither party was able to substantiate his/her claims about contributing to the

down payment and found that Betty’s testimony about paying for the down payment by herself

was “not credible” because at different times in the proceeding she gave different accounts of

whether she or her children provided those funds. The court’s decisions to credit Jon’s testimony

and to find Betty’s testimony not credible were valid exercises of its discretion, and we see no

basis for disturbing them. See In re Marriage of Klose, 2023 IL App (1st) 192253, ¶ 28; In re

Marriage of Click, 169 Ill. App. 3d 48, 57 (1988) (“[I]t is the function of the trial court to assess

the credibility of the witnesses and determine the weight to be afforded their testimony.”).

¶ 16 Third, Betty challenges the court’s finding that she had been “entitled to one hundred

percent of the rents for the marital residence.” She argues that this was inaccurate and that there

was no evidence presented at trial that she had collected rent. However, that finding was in

conjunction with court’s observation that Betty had enjoyed one hundred percent use of the home

since 2013. Further, the court clarified in its order denying Betty’s motion to correct the judgment

that it “did not rely on rental payments,” but instead merely noted that Betty “had the exclusive

right to collect rent on the second unit of the Marital Residence” and “allowed her daughter to live

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in the second unit of the Marital Residence without collecting rent.” The court observed that for

the past decade, Betty benefited from exclusive use of the home and that Betty could have collected

rent, but forewent that opportunity and instead gave her family the benefit of living in the second

unit rent-free. Although Betty argues that her daughter resides in the home to help care for her, she

cites no such evidence which was admitted at trial. Thus, Betty has not shown how this ruling is

contrary to the evidence or an abuse of discretion and we reject her argument. See Click, 169 Ill.

App. 3d at 57.

¶ 17 Lastly, Betty asserts that, if Jon is awarded a 50% interest in the property, “hypothetically

this puts [Betty] in breach of the mortgage’s, due on sale clause” and she “may face foreclosure,

if the mortgagee learns of the transfer of title making [Jon] an owner of the property, when he is

not on the mortgage, under the due-on sales clause.” However, we find this issue forfeited for two

reasons. First, there is no indication in the record that Betty presented any evidence on this issue

at trial. She fails to cite to any documents (such as the mortgage) or other evidence about such a

due-on-sale clause. We therefore cannot determine whether such a clause exists and under what

circumstances it might apply. Betty also fails to cite any relevant authority addressing whether and

how such a factor should be considered when dividing marital property. See Ill. S. Ct. R. 341(h)(7)

(stating that the appellant’s argument “shall contain the contentions of the appellant and the

reasons therefor, with citation of the authorities and the pages of the record relied on”); E.R.H.

Enterprises, 2013 IL 115106, ¶ 56. Second, Betty did not raise this argument about a due-on-sale

clause or potential foreclosure in the circuit court, which is generally a prerequisite to raising an

argument on appeal. See Skokie Gold Standard Liquors v. Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., 116

Ill. App. 3d 1043, 1052 (1983) (“Issues and arguments which were not presented to or considered

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by the trial court cannot be raised for the first time on review.”). For both reasons, we find that

Betty has forfeited this argument.

¶ 18 Finally, we address a statutory factor that Betty dismisses as “clearly not applicable,” which

is “(10) whether the apportionment is in lieu of or in addition to maintenance.” 750 ILCS

5/503(d)(10). A trial court “has broad discretion in applying the factors enumerated and is

authorized to award either property or maintenance, both property and maintenance, or property

in lieu of maintenance.” Jones, 187 Ill. App. 3d at 223 (citing In re Marriage of Gan, 83 Ill. App.

3d 265, 271 (1980)). We disagree with Betty’s assertion that this factor does not apply in this case.

To the contrary, the circuit court addressed this factor in depth in its judgment. Specifically, the

court noted that “[n]either party is in a position to pay the other maintenance,” but Jon “could be

a candidate for maintenance because of the disparity of income between the parties and in light of

the length of the marriage.” Thus, the court determined that, “[i]n lieu of a maintenance award,

*** the allocation of equal interests in the equity in the marital residence is more appropriate.”

¶ 19 When we consider all of these Section 503(d) factors together, we find the court did not

abuse its discretion in awarding each party an equal interest in the marital home. The court

adequately considered each statutory factor and made specific findings regarding the factors

applicable to this case. Further, neither party substantiated their respective claims of having

contributed to the down payment, and the court expressly found Betty’s testimony on that issue

not credible. Additionally, while Betty paid the mortgage, taxes, and insurance since 2013, she

also had exclusive use of the home since that time and had the ability to rent the second unit for

additional income, an opportunity that she forewent in favor of allowing her family to live there

rent-free. The court further noted that, given the parties’ disparate levels of income and the length

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of the marriage, Jon could be a candidate for maintenance, but the court found that a division of

the marital home was more appropriate.

¶ 20 Based on the length of the marriage, both parties’ contributions to the property, and the

parties’ limited income and assets, we cannot say that the court’s ruling dividing their marital

property “so exceeded the bounds of reason, that no reasonable person would take the view adopted

by the trial court.” Jones, 187 Ill. App. 3d at 222. Accordingly, we find that the trial court did not

abuse its discretion in awarding each party a 50% interest in the marital home. See In re Marriage

of Moll, 232 Ill. App. 3d 746, 755 (1992) (holding that the circuit court had not abused its discretion

in awarding nearly equal interests in the marital property when the court had adequately considered

all applicable statutory factors, the parties had made similar contributions to the estate, and there

was no award of maintenance); see also In re Marriage of Joynt, 375 Ill. App. 3d 817, 822 (2007)

(finding no abuse of discretion in the circuit court’s division of marital assets when the court had

“adequately considered all the factors of section 503(d) in making its distribution of marital

property”). We therefore affirm the circuit court’s judgment dissolving the parties’ marriage.

¶ 21 Affirmed.

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