Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: Filing of Petition

Hello. Once a petition is filed the law requires

that it be served upon the defendant by the County Sheriff where the defendant resides, or where he/she can be found. If attempts by the sheriff to serve the defendant fail, the law allows the plaintiff to have a special process server appointed; usually a licensed private investigator. In most instances the appointment of a special process server is a last resort. Of

course in Illinois, in divorce cases, one can

publish a divorce and this constitutes construc-

tive service. In this situation, a court will

grant a divorce, but will reserve property division, until the defendant can be notified personally of the proceedings. For instance, later, at the post decree stage (after judgment),

the plaintiff can serve the defendant with a

notice of motion and a motion for the court

to award certain property to the plaintiff. In situations where the defendant is served initially with summons and a complaint, he/she

has 30 days to file an appearance and/or answer.

As you can see, this is quite a process. I will

be happy to answer any additional questions that

you may have. In my opinion a person filing a

lawsuit should have a lawyer.