title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

publisher: Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO)

jurisdiction: IL

topic: divorce

heading: Residency requirement

text: Before you can divorce in Illinois, one of the two spouses needs to have lived in the state for at least 90 days. Illinois doesn't call it divorce on the paperwork; the legal term is 'dissolution of marriage.' The same 90-day rule covers civil unions.

license_note: Facts summarized in our own words from public Illinois divorce guidance; this is not ILAO's text. See the source URL for ILAO's full guide. Legal information, not legal advice, so verify against the official source before relying on it.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Grounds: irreconcilable differences (no-fault)

text: Illinois is a no-fault state, so you don't have to prove your spouse did anything wrong. The only ground the court needs is 'irreconcilable differences,' which means the marriage has broken down and can't be put back together. Nobody has to be blamed for it.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Six-month separation presumption

text: If the two of you have lived separate and apart for at least 6 months by the time the judge finalizes the divorce, the court presumes irreconcilable differences exist. And 'living apart' doesn't always mean separate addresses; in some situations it can count even when you share a home but are no longer living as a couple.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Overview of the process

text: Most divorces move through the same arc. You check that you meet the 90-day residency rule, then you prepare and file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and pay the filing fee, or ask the court to waive it. Next you formally notify ('serve') your spouse, and your spouse files an Appearance, a Response, or both. From there you work out the substance: property, support, and, if you have kids, parental responsibilities. The case ends when a judge enters a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage. ILAO publishes separate step-by-step instructions for cases with children and cases without, linked from the guide below.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Dividing property and debts

text: When the two of you can't agree on who gets what, the judge splits the marital property and debts for you. That covers money, belongings, real estate, debt, and investments. Illinois divides it 'equitably,' which means fairly rather than strictly fifty-fifty, so an equitable split isn't always an equal one. Anything either spouse owned before the marriage is usually treated as non-marital and stays with that spouse, though there are exceptions.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Spousal maintenance (alimony)

text: The judge can also order one spouse to pay the other maintenance, which you may know as alimony or spousal support. Illinois doesn't leave the amount to guesswork; it has guidelines and set formulas that work out both how much is paid and for how long, driven mainly by the two incomes and how long the marriage lasted.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Children: parental responsibilities and parenting time

text: When there are children, the judge decides what Illinois now calls 'parental responsibilities,' the term that replaced 'custody.' It breaks into two parts. Parenting time is the schedule of when each parent has the child, and decision-making responsibility is about who makes the big calls on education, health, religion, and activities. The court wants parents to agree on a Parenting Plan themselves, and when they can't, the judge decides on what's in the best interests of the child.

tags: what does parental responsibilities mean


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Parenting education requirement

text: If children are involved, both parents have to complete a court-approved parenting education program before the judge will rule on parental responsibilities. The usual window is within 60 days of your first court date (the status date). The Center for Divorce Education runs an approved course, and it isn't the only provider.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Child support

text: Where there are children, the judge sets child support too. Illinois runs an 'income shares' model, so the number comes out of both parents' net incomes and the amount of parenting time, following the state's guidelines.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: If you cannot afford the fees

text: If the court filing fee or the service fee is out of reach, you can ask the court to waive it by filing a fee-waiver application. The judge looks at your finances and can waive the fees in full or in part. ILAO has a free guided 'Easy Form' interview that walks you through the fee-waiver paperwork.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: How long it takes

text: Timing depends a lot on whether you agree. An uncontested divorce, where the two of you have settled everything, often wraps up in about 6 months, sometimes longer. A contested one, where you're still fighting over the major issues, commonly runs 18 months or more. The county, the court's calendar, and how complicated the case is all push that number around.


title: Getting a divorce (Illinois)

heading: Uncontested / agreed divorce

text: When both spouses agree on everything, the property, the debts, support, and any parenting arrangements, the divorce is 'uncontested.' You can write the agreement up as a Marital Settlement Agreement, add an agreed Parenting Plan if you have children, and hand it to the judge to fold into the Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage.


title: Approved Statewide Forms — Divorce, Child Support & Maintenance

publisher: Illinois Courts (Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts)

topic: forms

heading: Statewide approved divorce forms

text: Illinois has standardized, statewide-approved court forms for divorce that all Illinois courts must accept. The forms are organized into two tracks: 'Divorce with Children' and 'Divorce without Children Under 18.' Each track has its own instructions, petition, and judgment forms, plus shared forms for service and default. Forms are ADA-accessible PDFs that accept both handwritten and typed entries.

license_note: Public government forms catalog. Codes shown (DWC/DNC/DIV/DCS) are the catalog labels used by illinoiscourts.gov, not statutory citations.


heading: Divorce WITHOUT children forms

text: For a divorce without children under 18, the statewide approved forms include: 'How to Get a Divorce Instructions (Divorce No Children)'; 'Petition for Divorce (Divorce No Children)'; 'Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union (Divorce No Children)'; and 'Certification Agreement (Divorce No Children)'. The petition starts the case; the judgment is what the judge signs to end the marriage.


heading: Divorce WITH children forms

text: For a divorce with children, the statewide approved forms include: 'How To Get a Divorce with Children Instructions'; 'Petition for Divorce with Children'; 'Other Information about Children'; 'Parenting Plan'; 'Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage/Civil Union with Children'; and the 'Certification Agreement'. The Parenting Plan sets out parenting time and decision-making for the children.


heading: Support order forms

text: For child support, the statewide forms include 'How to Get an Order for Support', the 'Order for Support', and a 'Support Information Sheet'. These are used to establish or document a child support obligation.


heading: Service-of-process forms (summons, sheriff, special process server)

text: Shared divorce forms used to serve the other spouse include the 'Divorce Summons', the 'Letter to the Sheriff (Serving a Summons and Forms)', the 'Letter to the Special Process Server', and 'How to Serve a Summons' instructions. In most cases you file a general summons so the sheriff (or an appointed special process server) can deliver notice to the respondent.


heading: Default forms (when the spouse does not respond)

text: If a spouse is properly served and does not respond within the required time, shared divorce forms include the 'Motion for Default' and the 'Order for Default', which ask the court to proceed without the respondent's participation.


heading: Appearance form

text: A respondent (or any party) who wants to participate in the case files an 'Appearance' form (the statewide form is titled 'Appearance and Jury Request'). ILAO also offers a blank Appearance form for divorce. Filing an Appearance tells the court and the other side that you are participating in the case.


text: The statewide form 'Financial Affidavit (Family & Divorce Cases)' (approved 06/2025) is a sworn statement of a party's income, expenses, assets, and debts. It captures employment and business details, child support information, health insurance, debts and liabilities, cash and accounts, investments, property and business interests, retirement accounts, and personal property. Courts commonly require it when money is in dispute — for example contested support, maintenance, or property issues. Instructions: 'How to Complete a Financial Affidavit (Family & Divorce Cases)' (approved 06/2025).


heading: Fee-waiver forms

text: To ask the court to waive court fees, the statewide approved forms (approved 08/2025) are: 'How to Request a Fee Waiver' (instructions), 'Application for Waiver of Court Fees' (the application you file), and 'Order on Application for Waiver of Court Fees' (the judge's decision). The Fee Waiver forms are available in English, Spanish, Polish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Korean. The specific income thresholds and eligibility criteria are stated inside the Application PDF itself.


title: Serving your spouse & procedural basics (Illinois)

publisher: Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO) / Illinois Courts

topic: service

heading: Serving the respondent

text: Once you file your Petition for Dissolution and the court issues a summons, the next job is to formally notify your spouse that the case exists. That formal step is called 'service.' The two usual routes are personal service by the county sheriff or by a special process server the court appoints. You hand the sheriff the summons and a copy of the filed petition using the 'Letter to the Sheriff' form.

license_note: Facts summarized in our own words; this is not ILAO's text. See the source URL for ILAO's full guidance. Exact deadlines and the publication notice period are county- and clerk-specific, so verify them before relying on them.


heading: Proof of service

text: Whoever does the serving fills out a proof of service, also called a return, that records when and how your spouse was served, and that gets filed with the court. The court won't move the case forward until it has that proof on file, and it needs it before it can enter a default if your spouse never responds.


heading: Service by publication (when you cannot find your spouse)

text: If you truly can't find your spouse after making a real effort to look, Illinois lets you serve them 'by publication.' You file an affidavit laying out the search you did, and notice of the case then runs in a county newspaper. Publication comes with its own rules and a waiting period, and the exact newspaper, the fee, and the timing are set locally, so confirm them with the circuit clerk before you rely on them.


heading: The respondent's response

text: Once your spouse has been served, they have a limited window to respond by filing an Appearance, plus a Response or Answer if they disagree with anything in the petition. The exact deadline is printed on the summons. If that window closes with no response, you can ask the court for a default.


heading: Filing fees vary by county

text: There's a fee to file the Petition for Dissolution, and service can carry its own fees on top. The actual dollar figures aren't statewide; each county's circuit clerk sets them, so they vary across Illinois and you'll want to check your own clerk's fee schedule. If the fee is more than you can manage, you can file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees.


heading: Governing law: IMDMA (750 ILCS 5)

text: The law behind Illinois divorce is the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, the IMDMA, found at 750 ILCS 5. It lays down the rules for grounds (irreconcilable differences), how marital property gets divided, maintenance, how parental responsibilities are allocated, and child support. How the case actually moves through court is also shaped by the Illinois Supreme Court Rules and the Code of Civil Procedure.


title: Illinois Supreme Court Rule 45 — Remote Appearances in Court Proceedings

publisher: Supreme Court of Illinois

heading: Rule 45 — when a court may allow remote participation

text: Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 45 (effective May 26, 2020), the court may, upon request or on its own order, allow a case participant to participate in a civil or criminal matter remotely, including by telephone or video conference. This means a litigant in a civil case such as a divorce can ask the court for permission to appear remotely instead of in person.

license_note: Rule text summarized/excerpted from the Illinois Supreme Court announcement. Verify exact current wording against the official rule before relying on it.


heading: Evidentiary hearings and testimony (Rule 241)

text: Rule 45 broadly covers participating remotely. For contested evidentiary proceedings where a witness testifies by video from a remote location, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 241 applies separately and generally requires 'good cause' and 'appropriate safeguards' for remote testimony. So routine, non-testimonial appearances are easier to do remotely than full evidentiary trials.


heading: How remote appearance gets authorized

text: Rule 45 lets a court permit remote participation 'upon request or on its own order.' In practice, each judicial circuit and individual judge sets its own remote-appearance procedure, so you should check your specific court's policy and follow its process to request remote appearance and obtain the video link.


title: Cook County — Remote Court Proceedings

publisher: Circuit Court of Cook County

jurisdiction: IL-Cook

heading: Getting your Zoom meeting ID and passcode (Cook County)

text: In the Circuit Court of Cook County, many hearings are held by Zoom. To get the Zoom meeting ID and passcode for your hearing, contact the Clerk's Office online or call (312) 603-5030, or look up your case at the Clerk of the Circuit Court's online case information. The Domestic Relations and Family divisions publish their own courtroom Zoom details.

license_note: County court guidance summarized for grounding. Cook County procedures change; verify before relying.


title: Cook County — Remote Court Proceedings

heading: How to join a Cook County remote hearing

text: Before joining a Cook County Zoom hearing you must enter your name PRIOR to joining the session, using the court's naming convention (for example, self-represented parties use 'P - Party Name' for a plaintiff/petitioner). Keep both your audio and video turned off until your case is called. You can also dial in by phone at (312) 626-6799 using your hearing's Meeting ID and passcode.


title: Cook County — Remote Court Proceedings

heading: No recording of remote proceedings

text: Recording, photographing, videotaping, or otherwise reproducing or saving Zoom or livestreamed Cook County court proceedings is strictly prohibited and can result in contempt of court.