Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

Re: illinois divorce information

Here are some basics:

As for legal issues to consider, without children it's really just about grounds/reason to get divorced, child custody, child support, property division, maintenance and perhaps attorneys fees.

First, child custody essentially means what parent will the children be living with and which parent will be responsible for any decision-making regarding the children. There are broadly two types, joint and sole custody. The primary distinction is decision-making. With either type the child will obviously be living primarily with one parent, however, in joint custody the large decisions (education, healthcare and religious upbringing primarily) are shared between the parents whereas in sole custody one parent is solely responsible. The non-custodial parent will typically have "reasonable" visitation rights.

Second, child support is a payment made by the parent without custody of the children to the parent with custody. Generally speaking, for one child this figure would be equal to 20% of the payer's net income. There might also make a contribution for things like daycare, school fees, and obviously healthcare needs to be addressed as well.

Third, property division is going to be simply, how is marital property going to be split-up by the court. Marital property means any property acquired by you or your spouse from the time of your marriage to the present. Is there agreement on this issue? If a court would be deciding this issue I think it generally boils down to length of marriage and the income/vocational situation of each party.

Maintenance/alimony and attorneys fees may be relevant when there's an imbalance of incomes. Maintenance is a monthly payment to you for your support...but this is somewhat limited by husband's ability to pay. And fees are something where you might seek a contribution from your husband on if this case would drag on for too long.

There are only really 2-3 broad procedural routes that might be pursued. First, if you and your spouse can still communicate, you might consider sorting through issues yourselves and then sort of just have one lawyer draft the legal documents. Second, use of a mediator can be effective though one downside might be that although he/she may be a lawyer, that person can't represent you in court and a separate attorney would be required to finalize the case.

I'd like to help you in any way I can. Feel free to contact us for a free meeting or telephone conference or we'll give you a call over the next several days.

Re: illinois divorce information

That type of question is too broad for this forum. What specific questions do you have about Illinois divorce law? There are many helpful websites that will give you an overview of Illinois law. Email me if you have any specific questions.

Re: illinois divorce information

Illinois is a "no-fault" divorce state, but usually requires someone to be at fault in order to give the divorce.

Fault or no fault...this has nothing to do with financial issues (support or maintenance) or custody issues.

The costs of getting divorced will directly depend on how much you are willing to fight over. The more you fight, the more it will cost. Illinois allows costs shifting, so that the spouse with more money may have to pay the other spouse's fees.

email me if you have any questions.