In re Marriage of Roberts

Matthew Roberts (plaintiff) worked at a bank when he married Leigh Anne Roberts (defendant) in 1989; the following year, the couple agreed Matthew would attend law school full-time while Leigh Anne supported them financially and ran the household. They separated two months before Matthew's graduation, with Leigh Anne then pregnant; Matthew went on to a position at a large Chicago law firm and filed for divorce in 1993. The trial court ruled Matthew's law degree wasn't a marital asset but his student loans were a marital liability, assigning him sole responsibility for repaying them; after allocating the couple's assets and liabilities, Matthew was left with a net liability of $2,415.04 while Leigh Anne held net assets of $25,534.98. Leigh Anne appealed.