How to Get a Divorce in the State of Illinois
- 1). File the petition for divorce. If you hire a lawyer, he will ask you questions so he can fill out and file the proper forms for you. This includes why you are asking for a divorce, such as irreconcilable differences, drug addiction or adultery. If you are representing yourself, print the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage form from edivorcepapers.com (see Resources) and fill it out according to the included instructions. Submit the forms to the courthouse in your jurisdiction.
- 2). Serve the other party with copies of the papers. You are not required to use the sheriff's office or a service to serve papers, but it is the preferred method. Service can be waived in Illinois if your attorney contacts the other party's attorney to ask for service to be done through the attorneys.
- 3). Wait for the formal response from the other party. The other party has 30 days in which to respond to the papers. If he retains an attorney during this time, the response may come from the attorney instead. He must respond if he intends to contest any part of the divorce.
- 4). Fill out the financial affidavit showing all of your assets and financial obligations. This will help the courts divide up assets and set financial help, such as child support or spousal support. If the two parties agree on how to split assets and debt, this step is not formally required by the court.
- 5). Negotiate between yourself and the other party for items such as child custody and division of property. The more you can agree on, such as property and asset division, child custody and support and debt division, the more smoothly things will go in court. If you cannot discuss these matters between the two of you, do so through your attorneys instead.
- 6). Attend the pretrial conference. You and the other party, as well as your attorneys, meet with the judge in his chambers to discuss temporary orders. In some cases, your divorce may be granted at this stage if the two of you agree on all issues. If you cannot agree, a final hearing is scheduled and other steps may be ordered, such as mediation and parenting classes when children are involved.
- 7). Show up for your trial date. It is not unusual for a court date in Illinois to be five to six months down the road. At this trial, the judge will look at your case and make decisions for those items you and the other party could not agree on. A trial can be lengthy and may require witnesses, depositions and expert reports. If children are involved, a guardian et litum may be hired to make suggestions on the best interest of the children.
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