Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

How difficult would it be to file a no contest/no fault do-it-myself divorce? I've been seperated from my husband for 21 years. We had no contact and didnt know of each others whereabouts for 20+years until just recently. Our daughter was 2 when we split, she's 23 now. We have no joint property or anything that needs to be split. He's a Texas resident for 45 years and has had two children with the woman he's been with the last 21 years. I'm an Illinois resident for the last 21 years and a homeowner the last 9 years. The do-it-yourself paperwork I find online suggests I can only file a no contest/no fault divorce myself if certain conditions are met such as not having been married longer than 8 years and not owning any property either joint or seperate. Is that really going to be an issue here? We just want this to be simple and done with, in the legal sense, finally.


Asked on 4/26/10, 9:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Shimberg Shimberg and Crohn, P.C.

You are looking at joint simplified divorce papers. You can represent yourself. As Abe Lincoln once said , the person who represents themselves has a fool for a lawyer. Be careful. Fro example, the home you bought is presumed to be marital property, giving your husband rights in that property. Normally people who lend you money what your spouse to sign off on the papers to the home. Did you disclose you were married when you bought the home? Is your husband willing to sign off on the home? Do you and he have pensions you earned over the last 21 years. There are issues you may be ignoring.

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Answered on 5/03/10, 12:50 pm


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