How to handle profit/gains from sale of home during divorce in Illinois

How to handle profit/gains from selling home during divorce in Illinois
short of it is that we got divorced in illinois and sold our home located in illinois. i received a check from the real estate agency for my half of the profits from the sale of the home. my questions is this... am i free to spend that profit..ie..to pay of outstanding bills etc...or does the money have to be reinvested somehow. i am not in a position to buy another home at this time. are there any capital gains taxes i have to pay? i am totally in the dark as how to handle the income from the sale of the home

As long as you lived in that home at least two years out of the last five, as a single person you do not pay any capital gains tax on any gain up to $250,000. A married couple filing jointly excludes up to $500,000 gain from capital gains tax. That whole 'reinvest gain in new home' scenario is old tax law, not current.