Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Listen to your attorney. He or she is correct. He is wasting his time and your money if he meets with your husband without an appearance on file,

Technically it isn't necessary to have an appearance on file in order to engage in settlement negotiations. However, it is not in your interests to discuss settlement with your husband after he has announced that he will be acting as his own counsel because you will not be able to move forward with your case, i.e., holding him in default or requiring him to appear on any motions which you may want to file, if he doesn't file an appearance. If he's going to be his own attorney, your attorney is right to require that he file an appearance. The fact that your husband is reluctant to do so says that he has a different agenda than yours and is most likely trying to waste everyone's time while you run out of money. Good luck.