Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Date moved out or date papers filed

Six months from the date you moved out or earlier if you can explain to the court that you were essentially separated even whilst you were still living together. The six month law is for uncontested.

Re: Date moved out or date papers filed

You are referring to the period that a couple must live separate and apart to get a no-fault (irreconcilable differences) divorce. It is 6 months separate and apart when the parties agree, and two years separate and apart if they don�t. You do not have to have been apart for any period when you file, but you must have satisified the requirement by the time you seek the judgment of dissolution. In other words, you must be separated for the requisite period next preceding the judgment.

By the way, the law does not require that the parties lived in separate residences/abodes for the period. Else, what would poor people do? Many can�t afford a separate apartment, a separate bedroom, or even a separate bed. In short, �separate and apart� can be established without physical distance between the parties. In re Marriage of Dowd, 214 Ill.App.3d 156, 157 Ill.Dec. 894, 573 N.E.2d 312 (1991); In re Marriage of Kenik, 181 Ill.App.3d 266, 129 Ill.Dec. 932, 536 N.E.2d 982 (1989).