Family Law Lawyers in Decatur, Illinois

No. Illinois is a no-fault divorce state.

The legal basis for dissolving a marriage is that irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. You do not have to prove adultery, cruelty, abandonment, or some other form of marital misconduct in order to obtain a divorce.

That is an important distinction because divorce litigation generally is not designed to determine which spouse was a better husband or wife or who cheated on who. Instead, the Court focuses on the legal issues which must be resolved, including property, debt, maintenance, child support, parenting time, and parental decision-making.

There is no single timeline for a divorce in Illinois.

An uncontested divorce can sometimes move relatively quickly once both spouses have reached a complete agreement and the necessary paperwork has been prepared. A contested case can take considerably longer, particularly when the parties disagree about parenting time, decision-making, maintenance, property values, retirement accounts, a business, dissipation of assets, or other significant financial issues.

Cases involving children may also require the parties to negotiate a parenting plan and resolve both parenting time and decision-making responsibilities. If agreement cannot be reached, the Court may ultimately have to decide those issues.

An uncontested divorce is one in which the parties have reached an agreement on every issue that needs to be resolved before the marriage can be legally dissolved.

Depending on the case, that agreement may address division of property and debt, the marital residence, retirement accounts, maintenance, child support, parenting time, parental decision-making, insurance, tax issues, and other financial or parenting matters. The agreement is then properly documented and presented to the Court.

A contested divorce means something is in dispute. But it does not necessarily mean that the spouses disagree about everything. For example, the parties might agree on how to allocate debt but disagree about a parenting schedule.

If the parties cannot resolve the remaining issues, the Judge may conduct a hearing or trial and make the decisions for them.

Illinois does not automatically divide marital property 50/50.

Instead, Illinois follows a system commonly described as equitable distribution. The Court first determines what property and debt belong to the marital estate and what property is non-marital. The marital estate is then divided after considering certain factors established by Illinois law. The result can be a division that is close to equal, but Illinois law does not require a mathematical 50/50 split.

Correctly identifying and valuing the marital estate is often one of the most important parts of a divorce.

Illinois courts determine parenting time based on the best interests of the child. The law directs the court to consider numerous factors rather than relying on a single rule. Those factors include the wishes of the parents, the child’s wishes when appropriate, how much time each parent previously spent performing caretaking responsibilities, the child’s relationship with the parents and other important people, the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community, the mental and physical health of those involved, the parents’ ability to cooperate, and practical issues such as distance between the parents’ homes.

There is no specific age in Illinois at which a child automatically gets to decide which parent the child will live with.

The child’s wishes are one factor a Court may consider when allocating parenting time. The Court considers the child’s maturity and ability to express a reasoned and independent preference, but the child’s preference does not control the outcome by itself.

Naturally, the views of an older teenager may carry different practical weight than the preference of a very young child. Even with an older child, however, the court still focuses on the entire best-interests analysis.

Yes. Parenting arrangements can be modified but Illinois applies different standards depending on what is being changed.

Parenting time may be modified when changed circumstances make a modification that is necessary to serve the child’s best interests. Significant changes might involve a child’s school schedule, a parent’s work schedule, relocation, transportation problems, changes in the needs of the child, or circumstances that make the existing arrangement unworkable.

Illinois places additional restrictions on attempts to modify significant decision-making responsibilities during the first two years after an allocation judgment. Except in specified circumstances or by agreement, an early request generally requires serious concerns involving the child’s environment before the Court will allow the issue to proceed.

At the end of the day though, parenting plans are entered based on the family’s circumstances at a particular time. Over the years, children’s lives, schools, activities, parental employment, and family circumstances can substantially changed. So from a practical standpoint, changes in parenting plans are not uncommon.

Possibly, but Illinois law does have specific relocation rules.

For a child’s primary residence in Macon County, an in-state move of more than 50 miles generally falls within Illinois’ statutory definition of relocation. A move from Illinois to another state generally qualifies when the new residence is more than 25 miles from the child’s current primary residence. Distance is measured using surface roads, as provided by the statute.

A qualifying relocation ordinarily requires written notice, generally at least 60 days beforehand when practicable. If the other parent agrees and signs the notice, the process may be relatively straightforward. If the other parent objects or refuses to sign, the relocating parent generally must ask the Court for permission.

The Court considers the child’s best interests, including the reasons for the move, educational opportunities, extended family, the impact on the child, and whether a workable parenting arrangement can be maintained.

Illinois does not require every person in a divorce or family case to hire an attorney, and statewide forms are available for people who represent themselves.

The important question is whether handling the case without having a lawyer puts important rights at risk.

Family cases can affect where your children spend their time, who makes major decisions for them, whether you can relocate, how much child support or maintenance is paid, who keeps the house, how retirement accounts are divided, responsibility for debt, ownership of a business, and other issues that may affect your family for years.

An attorney can help identify issues that may not be obvious from the court forms, obtain and analyze financial information, determine whether property may be marital or non-marital, negotiate a parenting plan or financial settlement, prepare proper orders, and present disputed issues to the Court when an agreement cannot be reached.