Divorce

You may be asking yourself if you should file for a divorce or maybe your spouse has filed for divorce and you don’t know what to do. You need to be sure that you are protected and do not receive unfair treatment by the legal system or by your spouse during this process. The Law Offices of Louis R. Fine have been helping people come through divorce with dignity and respect for years and is known for being both compassionate to our clients needs and fighting aggressively to defend their rights.

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Grounds for divorce

A judgment of dissolution of marriage may be granted in Illinois on the following grounds:

  1. Impotence
  2. Bigamy
  3. Adultery
  4. Desertion for one year
  5. Addiction to alcohol/drugs
  6. Attempted murder
  7. Conviction of felony
  8. Infecting other spouse with sexually transmitted disease
  9. Living separate and apart for two years where there exists irreconcilable differences

If the grounds for the dissolution of marriage is based upon living separate and apart for two years with irreconcilable differences,  the court must determine that efforts at reconciliation have failed or are impractical and not in the best interests of the family.

Furthermore, if the parties have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for at least six months immediately prior to the filing of the petition, the parties may waive the requirement of living separate and apart for two years by filing a stipulation to that effect with the court.  750 ILCS 5/401

Residency requirements/where to file

At least one of the parties to the dissolution action must have been a resident of the State of Illinois for a minimum of ninety days immediately prior to the filing of the action.  The action for dissolution may be filed in the county where either party resides.  750 ILCS 5/401

Name of court and title of action/parties

An action for dissolution of marriage is filed in Circuit Court.  The title of the action initiating the dissolution proceeding is a Petition for Dissolution, while the title of the action granting the dissolution is referred to as a Judgement for Dissolution of Marriage.  The filing party in a dissolution action is the Petitioner, while the other party is known as the Respondent.  750 ILCS 5/105

Legal separation

Any person living separate and apart from their spouse may obtain a judgement of legal separation providing for that spouse’s reasonable support and maintenance.

Simplified divorce procedure

If the following conditions are met, the parties may file a joint petition for dissolution of marriage:

  1. Neither party is dependent upon the other for support or each party is willing to waive the right to support, and each party understands that consultation with an attorney may help them determine eligibility for support;
  2. The residency requirements have been met;
  3. Irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and the parties have been separated for at least six months;
  4. Reconciliation efforts have failed or would be futile;
  5. No children of the marriage and wife is not pregnant;
  6. The marriage is no older than eight years;
  7. Neither party has any interest in real property;
  8. The parties waive all rights to alimony;
  9. The total fair market value of all marital property does not exceed $10,000;
  10. The combined gross annual income of both parties does not exceed $35,000, and neither party has a gross annual income in excess of $20,000;
  11. The parties have disclosed to each other all assets and their tax returns for all years of marriage;
  12. The parties have executed  a written agreement dividing all assets in excess of $100 in value and allocated responsibility for all debts and liabilities between the parties. 750 ILCS 5/453