What to expect in your divorce

General information about Illinois law as of October 23, 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

What is the difference between an agreed and a contested divorce?

In an agreed divorce, you and your spouse settle everything between you: property, debts, maintenance and, if you have children, a plan for them. In a contested divorce, you cannot agree on one or more of those, and the court decides what you cannot settle. Either way, the court cannot enter the judgment until it has dealt with the children, child support, maintenance and property, or set an issue aside for later (750 ILCS 5/401).

How long does a divorce take in Illinois?

There is no single number, and nobody can honestly promise you one. The law sets some fixed points: the residence rule below, the 120 days for parenting plans, and a judgment that waits until the children, support, maintenance and property are dealt with.

What are the grounds for divorce in Illinois?

That irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. If you have lived separate and apart for at least 6 months before the judgment, the law presumes this is met, and the presumption cannot be rebutted (401).

Do I have to live in Illinois to file?

One spouse must have been a resident of Illinois, or stationed here in the armed services, for 90 days before the case was filed or before the finding (401).

Is there a simpler divorce for a short marriage?

There is a joint petition for simplified dissolution, but only if every condition in the statute fits. Among them: married 8 years or less, no children together, no real estate, no retirement benefits beyond IRAs worth under $10,000 combined, both waive maintenance, marital property under $50,000 after debts, combined income under $60,000 with neither spouse over $30,000, and a signed agreement dividing assets and debts (750 ILCS 5/452).

What happens when we agree?

You put the terms in a written agreement covering property, maintenance and the children (750 ILCS 5/502). The terms about property and maintenance bind the court unless it finds them unconscionable. The terms about the children's support and parenting do not bind it: the judge reviews those.

If you have children, the two of you can file a parenting plan you have both signed. The court approves it unless it finds the plan is not in the children's best interests (750 ILCS 5/602.10).

What happens while the case is going on?

Either spouse can ask the court for temporary maintenance or temporary child support while the divorce is pending (750 ILCS 5/501). The court can also make a temporary order about the children's parenting time and decision-making before the final judgment (750 ILCS 5/603.5). If you cannot agree on a parenting plan, each parent files their own, generally within 120 days (602.10).

What does a guardian ad litem do?

In a case about the children, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem, a lawyer who investigates the facts and interviews the child and the parents. Unless the court directs otherwise, the guardian ad litem gives the court and both parents a written report or recommendations, based on the child's best interests, at least 30 days before the final hearing or trial (750 ILCS 5/506).

Preparing for that interview matters, and Rick prepares you for it.

Can I ask for another evaluation?

Yes. A parent can ask the court, a reasonable time before trial, to order an evaluation by a professional that parent hires. The court orders it unless it finds the request untimely or not in the child's best interests, and the parent who asked pays the evaluator unless the court orders otherwise (750 ILCS 5/604.10).

Who decides custody if we still disagree?

First, the court orders mediation on the parenting plan, unless it finds a reason not to (602.10). What the mediator cannot settle, the judge decides, by the child's best interests: who makes the significant decisions for the child (750 ILCS 5/602.5) and how parenting time is shared (750 ILCS 5/602.7).

Is it still called custody in Illinois?

The statute now speaks of allocating parental responsibilities, in two parts: decision-making on significant issues such as education and health (750 ILCS 5/602.5), and parenting time. Most people still say custody, and so does this page.

How is parenting time decided?

By the child's best interests. If the parents present a written parenting plan they agree on and the court approves it, that plan governs. If you cannot agree, the court orders mediation first, unless it finds a reason not to (750 ILCS 5/602.10); what the mediator cannot settle, the judge decides. Both parents are presumed fit. The factors the court weighs include each parent's wishes, the child's wishes given the child's maturity, and who did the caretaking in the 24 months before the case was filed (750 ILCS 5/602.7).

How is child support figured in Illinois?

On both parents' incomes. The court adds the parents' monthly net incomes together, takes the amount for that combined income and the number of children from the state schedule, and works out each parent's percentage share. The court applies these guidelines unless it finds them inappropriate for the child (750 ILCS 5/505).

Can I move away with my child?

From Winnebago or Boone County, a move of more than 50 miles within Illinois, or of more than 25 miles to another state, measured from the child's current primary residence, is a relocation (750 ILCS 5/600). The parent who wants to relocate must give the other parent written notice, at least 60 days ahead unless that is impracticable, and file a copy with the circuit clerk (750 ILCS 5/609.2). Only a parent with the majority of parenting time, or equal time, may seek to relocate. If the other parent signs the notice and it is filed with the court, the move is allowed; if not, the parent who wants to move must ask the court for permission, and the court decides by the child's best interests.

How are property and debts divided in an Illinois divorce?

Each spouse keeps their own non-marital property. The court divides the marital property, which includes debts taken on during the marriage, in just proportions and without regard to marital misconduct (750 ILCS 5/503).

How is maintenance decided in Illinois?

The court first decides whether maintenance is appropriate at all. The factors it weighs include each spouse's income and property, their needs, each spouse's realistic present and future earning capacity, and how long the marriage lasted. Marital misconduct does not count (750 ILCS 5/504). If maintenance is appropriate, and the spouses' combined gross income is under $500,000 with no support owed from an earlier relationship, Illinois law sets a formula for the amount and ties how long it lasts to the length of the marriage, unless the court finds the formula inappropriate (504(b-1)).

Talk with Rick

Every divorce turns on its own facts. Rick will sit down with you and tell you plainly what to expect in yours. See Family law, or call (815) 986-1569.