Family Law & Divorce
The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act governs the provisions for both a Dissolution of Marriage and a Dissolution of Civil Union. A divorce, or dissolution is the is the legalities of a marriage or civil union ending. The Act requires that a Judgement have specific groundwork. These are all outlined in the Circuit Courts Local Rules as to where the Filing is. However, there must be grounds for dissolution. Grounds can be irreconcilable differences. There is no waiting period to file a petition for dissolution/civil union in the State of Illinois. However, one party must have resided in the state of Illinois for a period of ninety days before they can file.
Dissolution usually involves disagreements between the parties regarding their property, assets, and children. Your attorney will work for you in negotiating these things in both you and your child(ren)’s best interests. If these things cannot be successfully negotiated, then the parties may have to go to trial and let the judge decide.
In the Final Judgement, there will be a few things outlined.
Including but not limited to:
- Division of Property, including any Marital Property, Marital Real Estate, Vehicles, Retirements, Investments, Bank Accounts, Division of all Debts, Maintenance or Spousal Support
- Parenting Responsibilities and Parenting Time Arrangements (Parenting Plan)
- Child Support
- Additional financial obligations regarding the children of the parties.
Although most couples who are divorcing have disagreements about certain issues, these disputes usually are resolved through negotiation, and advice from lawyers and a judge. Most divorce cases ultimately are settled by agreement, in part because going to trial can be expensive.
Among the issues that must be settled before the divorce can be granted are the following:
- A couple decides to divorce there are a number of steps that must be taken before the divorce can be granted. The first step is to file a petition for divorce in the county in which one or both of the parties reside. In Illinois there is no waiting period to file a petition; however, a judgment may be granted once a party has resided in Illinois for 90 days.
Family Law Divorce Q&A's
Divorce
Maybe. Both parties must be willing to sign a waiver, and at the time the divorce becomes finalized, the parties must have been separated for at least six months. Since most divorces take at least several months from start to finish, it is possible to file when a couple separates.
This is nearly impossible to answer. Many things affect the cost of a divorce.
The more contested the case, the more expensive the litigation. As in purchasing a new car, there is a wide variety of selection of cars ranging from very inexpensive, one which merely gets you from place to place, to luxurious and extremely costly. Divorce attorneys, however, do not offer five-year financing. Watson Law does have convenient methods of payment and will keep you informed of each step throughout the process.
In addition, Watson Law believes in making every effort to mitigate unnecessary expenses throughout the divorce process. We will do everything we can to keep your costs as low as possible.
Watson Law will not represent both parties in a divorce action since it is impossible to advise what is in each person’s best interest without disadvantaging the opposing spouse. To put it another way, it is only possible to fully protect one party’s interests. Domestic cases are extremely uncertain and the position of parties can change rapidly.
