Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

What do you mean invest? Were these additions gifts, or not? Did you do the work, or just pay for the work to be done. If you did the work yourself, and the work was not a gift, you may have had mechanic's lien rights but depending on how long ago that was, you may have lost your rights. Converting what were essentially gifts into any other form of claim at this point, without some hard proof, will be extremely difficult if not impossible. Moreover, when your son filed for divorce, Illinois law automatically "converts" ownership so that it is more like a tenancy in common, and even if you were to attempt to create some kind of lien, it may attach only to your son's interests. Do not count on your soon-to-be ex-daughter-in-law to want to take care of you if she has an economic interest in the situation or there are children, and especially if you led her to believe they were gifts (and very much especially if you gave them for estate planning purposes). Get yourself an attorney who may be able to more fully review the situation and see if there are any viable options for you. At the end of the day, you may be relying on your son's good faith to pay you back over time.......