Filing for Divorce in Illinois: Step-by-Step (Forms, Fees, and Timeline)

Illinois rewrote its divorce statute in 2016 and threw out most of what made the old process slow: every fault ground, the two-year separation requirement, the word "custody." What remains is one ground — irreconcilable differences — that is conclusively presumed after six months apart, a set of statewide standardized forms every courthouse must accept, mandatory e-filing, and a short prove-up hearing at the end of nearly every case, agreed or not. A couple with a signed agreement and no children can be divorced in six to ten weeks. There is no waiting period at all.

What Illinois does not do is close the books when you separate. Marital property keeps accruing until the day the judgment is entered, nothing freezes the accounts at filing, and the financial disclosure that every other large state front-loads is, outside Cook County, something you have to ask for. The children's track runs on its own clock — a parenting plan within 120 days, a four-hour class within 60 days of the first conference, mediation before any judge will hear a parenting dispute — and it is usually what determines how long the case takes.

This guide walks the Illinois process in the order it happens — from proving the court can hear your case to the day the judgment is entered and the weeks after it — with the statutes, the Supreme Court rules, the form names, the fees, and the places where self-represented filers get stuck. It covers both the spouse who files (the petitioner) and the spouse who is served (the respondent).

For Illinois's substantive rules — the twelve property factors, the maintenance guideline, income-shares child support, the allocation of parental responsibilities — see the Illinois divorce guide. This article is about procedure.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The statutes, rules, and form names cited are current as of the publication date, but each of Illinois's 25 judicial circuits has its own local rules and fee schedule, and Cook County's Domestic Relations Division runs differently from the collar counties and downstate. Confirm current procedure with your circuit clerk, the courthouse self-help center, Illinois Legal Aid Online, or an Illinois family law attorney.

Before You File: Three Threshold Questions

1. Can you file in Illinois, and in which county?

Divorces are heard by the Circuit Court of the county where you file. In Cook County that means the Domestic Relations Division — at the Daley Center (50 W. Washington) for Chicago residents and at the suburban district courthouses in Skokie, Rolling Meadows, Maywood, Bridgeview, and Markham for the rest of the county. In the collar counties (DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry) and downstate, family cases are heard by the circuit's domestic relations or family judges. The filing office is the Circuit Clerk.

Residency is governed by 750 ILCS 5/401(a): at the time the case is filed, one spouse must have been a resident of Illinois — or stationed here in the armed services — for the 90 days before filing or before the court makes its finding. The "or" matters: the court looks at residency either at commencement or at the time it enters judgment, so a spouse who moved to Illinois eight weeks ago can file now and prove 90 days at the prove-up. Either spouse's residency suffices; the petition recites it and the petitioner testifies to it. The military divorce guide covers service members, whom the statute names explicitly.

Venue under 750 ILCS 5/104 is the county where either the petitioner or the respondent resides. Venue is not jurisdictional — a respondent who does not object by the response deadline waives it — and a petitioner who wants to file in a county where neither spouse lives must file a motion with the petition asking the court to waive venue, to be heard before anything else. Chicagoans who moved to a suburb sometimes prefer the suburban district's shorter calendar; the rule lets them file wherever either spouse lives.

Illinois recognizes same-sex marriages performed anywhere and still issues civil unions; a civil union is dissolved by the same procedure as a marriage, under the same forms, with "civil union" checked (750 ILCS 75/45). Illinois does not recognize common-law marriage and never has.

2. The only ground — and the six-month presumption

Since January 1, 2016, Illinois has a single ground for dissolution: irreconcilable differences that "have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage," where "efforts at reconciliation have failed or future attempts would be impracticable and not in the best interests of the family" (§ 401(a)). Adultery, cruelty, desertion, and the rest were repealed; a petition that alleges them is simply amended.

The statute then supplies the proof. Under § 401(a-5), if the spouses have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of at least six months immediately before the judgment is entered, there is an irrebuttable presumption that irreconcilable differences exist. Three things about that sentence trip people up:

• It is not a waiting period. You do not have to be separated before filing, and you do not have to be separated at all. Six months apart simply makes the ground unarguable. A couple separated for three weeks can file today and, if everything else is resolved, be divorced next month on the petitioner's testimony that the marriage is irretrievably broken and reconciliation has failed.
• It is measured to judgment, not filing. A couple who separated four months ago and files now will have the presumption by the time an agreed case reaches prove-up.
• "Separate and apart" does not require separate addresses. Illinois courts have long accepted that spouses can live separate and apart under one roof — separate bedrooms, separate finances, no longer holding themselves out as a couple. The petitioner testifies to the date; the respondent can dispute it only by contesting the ground, which almost never happens because the court will find irreconcilable differences on the petitioner's testimony anyway.

If the respondent does contest the ground, § 403(e) requires the court to try grounds first, in a bifurcated hearing, before anything else — and then gives the court discretion to pause for settlement or proceed straight to the remaining issues. Illinois courts have no mechanism to force a spouse to stay married; a contested grounds hearing delays the case by a few weeks and ends the same way.

3. What filing does — and does not do — to your property

Illinois differs from Pennsylvania, California, and New York on the single most important date in the case, and from all of them on what happens at filing.

The marital estate does not close at separation. Under 750 ILCS 5/503(a), marital property is everything acquired by either spouse "subsequent to the marriage" that does not fall into a listed exception — gifts and inheritances, pre-marital property and its exchanges, property acquired after a judgment of legal separation, property excluded by a valid agreement, and a few others. There is no exception for property acquired after the spouses separate or after the petition is filed. The paycheck deposited and the 401(k) match credited the week before the prove-up are marital. Section 503(e) gives each spouse "a species of common ownership" in the marital property that vests when the case is filed and lasts while it is pending, which is what lets the court reach assets titled in one name. Valuation is as of the date of trial or another date the parties agree on or the court sets (§ 503(f)). The marital vs. separate property guide covers classification and tracing; the practical consequence is that a long case keeps enlarging the pot, and a spouse earning much more than the other has a reason to want it over quickly.

Dissipation has a notice requirement and a lookback. Spending marital money for a non-marital purpose while the marriage is breaking down is charged back against the spender under § 503(d)(2) — but only if the claiming spouse serves a notice of intent to claim dissipation no later than 60 days before trial or 30 days after discovery closes, whichever is later, stating when the breakdown began, what was dissipated, and when. No dissipation is counted from more than three years before the claiming spouse knew or should have known of it, and never from more than five years before the petition was filed. Filing the petition fixes the outer boundary of the lookback, which is a reason not to wait if the spending has been going on for a while.

Nothing is frozen automatically. Illinois has no statewide automatic restraining order that takes effect at filing. Either spouse can empty a joint account or change a beneficiary the day after service without violating any order. The remedy is § 501(a)(2): a petition, supported by affidavit, for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction against transferring, encumbering, concealing, or disposing of property outside the usual course of business and the necessities of life; against removing a child from the court's jurisdiction for more than 14 days; and against striking or interfering with the other spouse or a child. Section 501(a)(3) adds "other appropriate temporary relief," including ordering the sale or purchase of assets or requiring a party to borrow. A TRO can be entered without notice for ten days on a showing of immediate and irreparable injury (735 ILCS 5/11-101); in practice judges want to see the account statements. The temporary orders guide explains the motion.

Step 1: The Petition — Statewide Forms and the Claims to Include

An Illinois dissolution is commenced by filing a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage / Civil Union with the circuit clerk. The Illinois Supreme Court's Commission on Access to Justice publishes standardized statewide forms for every step of a divorce, and under Supreme Court Rule 10-101 every circuit clerk and judge in the state must accept them. The core set:

Form	Who files it, when
Petition for Dissolution of Marriage / Civil Union (With Children or Without Children versions)	Petitioner, to open the case
Summons (Petition for Dissolution of Marriage / Civil Union)	Petitioner, issued by the clerk, served on the respondent
Domestic Relations Cover Sheet	Petitioner, in Cook and several other counties
Entry of Appearance	Respondent, within 30 days of service (or voluntarily, to avoid service)
Response to Petition and, if desired, Counter-Petition	Respondent
Financial Affidavit (Family & Divorce Cases)	Both, when temporary relief is sought and under most local rules regardless
Parenting Plan / Allocation Judgment	Both or each, within 120 days if there are minor children
Marital Settlement Agreement	Both, for an agreed case
Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage / Civil Union	Petitioner, for the judge's signature at prove-up
Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage / Civil Union (IDPH form VR-700)	Petitioner, presented to the judge before judgment (§ 707)
Application for Waiver of Court Fees (Rule 298)	Either, if eligible

Under 750 ILCS 5/403(a) the petition is verified (signed under 735 ILCS 5/1-109 certification, which replaces notarization in Illinois) and must state at a minimum: each spouse's age, occupation, and residence, and how long each has lived in Illinois; the date of the marriage and where it is registered; whether the spouses are living separate and apart and since when; the names, ages, and addresses of any living children of the marriage and whether a spouse is pregnant; any arrangements already made for support and for allocation of parental responsibilities; and the relief sought. The children's section also triggers the UCCJEA declaration (750 ILCS 36/209) listing where each child has lived for the past five years and any other custody proceedings. Under Supreme Court Rule 138, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and children's full birthdates stay out of filed documents; the Certificate of Dissolution carries the Social Security numbers and is not part of the public file.

What to ask for

Illinois is more forgiving than Pennsylvania about claims left out of the petition — the court must address maintenance, property, support, and parental responsibilities before entering judgment whether or not they are pleaded elegantly (§ 401(b)) — but the prayer for relief still governs what the court can award by default and what a respondent is on notice of. The petition should request: dissolution of the marriage; the assignment of non-marital property and division of marital property under § 503; maintenance or a finding barring it (a petition that is silent can leave a petitioner arguing later that the issue was reserved rather than waived); allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time under §§ 602.5 and 602.7 and child support under § 505; contribution to attorney's fees under § 508; and, if desired, the § 413(c) authorization to resume a former name. Checking "maintenance" on the standardized form does not commit you to pursuing it.

A respondent who wants affirmative relief — a different parenting schedule, maintenance, a dissipation claim — files a Counter-Petition with the Response. The practical reason is control of the case: a petitioner can voluntarily dismiss the petition before trial (735 ILCS 5/2-1009), and if the respondent has not filed their own counter-petition, the case ends and the respondent starts over, with a new filing fee, as petitioner.

Step 2: File and Pay — Mandatory E-Filing and the Fee Waiver

Illinois sets a statewide ceiling on civil filing fees in the Clerks of Courts Act (705 ILCS 105/27.1b, Schedule 1): the base fee for a petition may not exceed $371 in Cook County or $321 elsewhere, and a respondent's appearance fee may not exceed $235 in Cook or $196 elsewhere. Counties add authorized surcharges — court automation, document storage, children's waiting room, law library — so the amounts actually charged are higher and differ county to county. Approximate 2026 figures from the clerks' published schedules and self-help materials, to be confirmed with the clerk before you file:

County	Petition (approx.)	Appearance (approx.)	Notes
Cook	≈ $388	≈ $251	Daley Center or suburban districts; same fee for all Domestic Relations filings
DuPage	≈ $350–355	≈ $225–230	18th Circuit, Wheaton
Lake	≈ $335–340	≈ $215	19th Circuit, Waukegan
Will	≈ $320–370	≈ $205–245	12th Circuit, Joliet
Kane	≈ $310–370	≈ $200–245	16th Circuit, St. Charles; adds ≈ $90 for its Kids Divorce Educational Program when there are children
Downstate counties	≈ $250–320	≈ $150–200	Within the statutory caps plus local add-ons

Expect, in addition: sheriff's or process server's fee (≈ $60–$125 per attempt), the parenting education program fee (≈ $50 per parent in Cook; up to ≈ $90 elsewhere), certified copies of the judgment, and in a contested case the mediator's fee (Cook's court-run program is free for the first sessions; private mediators bill hourly) and any child representative or guardian ad litem fees the court allocates between the parties under § 506.

Fee waiver. Under 735 ILCS 5/5-105 and Supreme Court Rule 298, a party files the statewide Application for Waiver of Court Fees. A full waiver is mandatory if the applicant receives means-tested public benefits (SNAP, TANF, SSI, Medicaid, and others), has household income at or below 125% of the federal poverty level, or would suffer substantial hardship by paying. A partial waiver applies above that: 75% of fees waived at 125–150% of poverty, 50% at 150–175%, and 25% at 175–200%. The court rules on the application without a hearing in most cases; if it sets one, the hearing must occur within 30 days. The waiver covers the filing fee, the appearance fee, and sheriff's service, and the clerk must accept the filing while the application is pending.

E-filing. Civil filings — dissolution with and without children included — have been mandatory e-filed statewide through eFileIL since 2018, using any certified e-filing service provider (several are free beyond the court's own fees). A self-represented litigant may file on paper only by certifying good cause under Supreme Court Rule 9(c): no home computer or internet and travel is a hardship, a disability that prevents e-filing, a language barrier or low literacy, or a sensitive filing such as an order-of-protection petition. Every courthouse has public terminals and most have a self-help desk or Illinois JusticeCorps volunteers who will walk you through the upload. The clerk issues the summons electronically once the petition is accepted.

Step 3: Service — Sheriff, Special Process Server, or an Appearance

The summons requires the respondent to file an appearance within 30 days after service (Supreme Court Rule 101(d)). Under Rule 102(b) the summons itself must be served within 30 days of its issuance; if it is not, you ask the clerk for an alias summons and try again. Who may serve it is governed by 735 ILCS 5/2-202:

• The county sheriff — any county's sheriff, not necessarily the one where the case is filed — for a statutory fee paid to the clerk with the summons.
• A licensed private detective or registered employee of a licensed agency, who may serve process anywhere in Illinois without a court order. In Cook County, a $5 share of each such service is remitted to the sheriff and paid to the clerk when the summons issues.
• Any other private person over 18 and not a party, but only by court order on motion — the "special process server" appointment. In Cook County the motion is routine and typically granted the day it is presented; in some collar counties the judges expect an attempt by the sheriff first.

How service is made is § 2-203: by handing the summons and petition to the respondent personally, or by abode service — leaving them at the respondent's usual residence with a family member or resident aged 13 or older, telling that person what the papers are, and then mailing a copy to the respondent at the same address. The server files a return (the sheriff's certificate or a private server's affidavit). Out-of-state respondents are served the same way under § 2-208, by anyone authorized to serve process where they are. Service on a spouse abroad goes through the Hague Service Convention where it applies; the international divorce guide covers it.

No service at all is the most common route in agreed cases: the respondent simply files an Entry of Appearance (paying the appearance fee or filing a fee waiver). Under Rule 101 an appearance submits the respondent to the court's jurisdiction and makes the summons unnecessary. In Cook County, a respondent who wants to minimize involvement can sign an Appearance, Waiver, and Consent acknowledging the petition and consenting to a hearing without further notice — but a respondent who signs it should understand they are waiving notice of the prove-up, not their property or maintenance rights, which are governed by the agreement they sign separately.

Respondent who cannot be found. With an affidavit stating that the respondent has left the state, cannot be found after due inquiry, or is concealed within the state, the clerk publishes notice under 735 ILCS 5/2-206 in a newspaper in the county once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the clerk mails a copy to the respondent's last known address within ten days of the first publication. The affidavit must document the inquiry — last address, relatives, employer, postal forwarding, social media, public-records searches — and a thin affidavit is the usual reason a default is later vacated. Default may not be entered until 30 days after the first publication. Publication supports the dissolution itself and, under § 503(d), a later division of property located in Illinois; it does not support a personal judgment for maintenance or child support against a respondent who never appears.

Military respondent. The court requires an Affidavit as to Military Service under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act before any default; check the Defense Manpower Data Center and attach the printout.

Step 4: The Respondent's 30 Days — Appearance, Response, Counter-Petition, or Default

Within 30 days of service the respondent files an Entry of Appearance and, ordinarily, a Response admitting or denying each paragraph of the petition. Illinois pleading is not demanding in family cases — a response that denies the allegations and demands strict proof is sufficient — but the Response is where the respondent states their own position on maintenance, property, and the children, and the Counter-Petition is where they preserve it against a voluntary dismissal. A respondent who needs more time asks for it by motion before the 30 days run; judges grant a first extension routinely.

If the respondent files nothing, the petitioner moves for default under 735 ILCS 5/2-1301(d) after the 30 days (or 30 days after first publication). Default does not end the case: the court "may require proof of the allegations," and in dissolution it always does — the petitioner must appear at a default prove-up and testify to residency, the ground, and the terms requested, and the court will not award more than the petition asked for. A defaulted respondent may move to vacate within 30 days of the judgment under § 2-1301(e) on any reasonable terms, and within two years under § 2-1401 on a showing of a meritorious defense and diligence. Defaults in cases involving children are set aside readily; the court's obligation to find the best interests of the child does not depend on who showed up.

Step 5: Financial Disclosure — the Financial Affidavit and Discovery

Illinois has one statewide Financial Affidavit (Family & Divorce Cases), mandated by 750 ILCS 5/501(a)(1), and it is the backbone of every money issue in the case. The statute requires it for any petition for temporary maintenance or temporary child support, requires that it be supported by documents — tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements at a minimum — keeps it out of the public court file unless the court orders otherwise, and directs the court to impose "significant penalties and sanctions including costs and attorney's fees" on a party who intentionally or recklessly files an inaccurate or misleading one. Either party may move for a hearing on any disparity between a spouse's affidavit and the documents behind it.

Whether you must exchange it without a temporary-relief motion depends on local rule. Cook County Circuit Court Rule 13.3.1 requires the petitioner to serve a completed Financial Affidavit within 30 days after service of the petition and the respondent within 30 days after filing an appearance — or, if sooner, seven business days before any hearing — with sanctions under Supreme Court Rule 219 for noncompliance, and it specifies that a party who has not served theirs cannot use that as a reason to continue a hearing. Most collar-county and downstate circuits have a similar rule tied to the first court date or the pretrial. The affidavit itself is a twelve-page form covering income from every source, deductions, monthly living expenses line by line, assets, debts, and the children's expenses; the financial affidavit walkthrough covers how to complete it so it survives cross-examination.

Formal discovery runs under the Illinois Supreme Court Rules for civil cases: interrogatories (Rule 213 — limited to 30 including subparts, though Illinois has approved standard matrimonial interrogatories that do not count against the limit when used unmodified), requests to produce (Rule 214 — statements, tax returns, business records, with a duty to supplement), requests to admit (Rule 216), subpoenas to employers, banks, and plan administrators (Rule 204), depositions (Rule 206 — discovery depositions limited to three hours absent agreement or order), and examinations (Rule 215). The court sets a discovery schedule at the Rule 218 case management conference. Business valuations, pension valuations, and forensic tracing are done by retained or court-appointed experts under § 503(k) and § 604.10; the business valuation guide and the discovery process guide cover the tools.

Step 6: Children — Parenting Plan, Class, and Mediation on a Fixed Clock

If there are minor children, the case runs on a separate schedule set by Part IX of the Supreme Court Rules and 750 ILCS 5/602.10, and the court enforces it whether or not the parents are getting along.

1. Initial case management conference within 90 days of service (Rule 923(a)). The court confirms whether the parents have agreed on an allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting plan, sets the parenting-education deadline, and, if there is no agreement, orders mediation.
2. Parenting education within 60 days of that conference (Rule 924). Every circuit must offer or approve a program of at least four hours on parenting time, allocation of responsibilities, and their effect on children. Cook County's is Focus on Children, run by Family Court Services, with the online Children in Between course authorized as an alternative when ordered; the collar counties use their own (Kane's Kids Divorce Educational Program, DuPage's and Lake's approved providers). The court may excuse attendance only on a documented finding that excusal is in the child's best interests, and may sanction a parent who willfully fails to complete it. In a default, only the petitioner attends.
3. Parenting plan within 120 days of service or filing (§ 602.10(a)). Each parent files a proposed plan — jointly if they agree, separately if not — covering decision-making responsibility in the four statutory areas (education, health, religion, extracurriculars), the parenting-time schedule, holidays, transportation, the right of first refusal, relocation notice, communication, and dispute resolution; the statewide Parenting Plan form walks through each item. If no plan is filed, the court must hold an evidentiary hearing to allocate responsibilities itself (§ 602.10(b)). An agreed plan is binding on the court unless it finds the plan is not in the children's best interests (§ 602.10(d)).
4. Mediation before any contested parenting hearing (§ 602.10(c); Rule 905; Cook County Rule 13.4(e)). The court must order mediation of any dispute over allocation, parenting time, or relocation unless it finds an impediment — domestic violence being the recognized one. Cook County's court-annexed program provides staff mediators; elsewhere the circuit maintains a list and the parties split the cost unless the court allocates it. A full case management conference follows within 30 days after mediation ends (Rule 923(b)).
5. Eighteen months to a final allocation order (Rule 922). All parenting proceedings must be resolved within 18 months of service, and the court must make written findings explaining any delay. In practice this is the ceiling on the entire case when children are involved.

Along the way the court may appoint a guardian ad litem, child representative, or attorney for the child under § 506, with fees allocated between the parents, and may order a custody evaluation under § 604.10 by a court-appointed or retained professional; the custody evaluation checklist covers what to expect. Relocation under § 609.2 requires 60 days' written notice and, if the other parent objects, court approval — the threshold being a move of more than 25 miles for a parent in Cook or the collar counties, 50 miles elsewhere, or 25 miles across the state line. The divorce with children guide covers how the parenting schedule drives support and what judges look for in a plan.

Step 7: Temporary Relief — Support, Fees, the House, and Protection

Illinois handles interim money issues on paper. Under § 501(a)(1) and the paragraph that follows it, temporary maintenance and temporary child support are decided "on a summary basis" from the Financial Affidavits, tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements, and the allocated parenting time — an evidentiary hearing is held only on a showing of good cause. Judges generally run the § 504(b-1) maintenance guideline and the § 505 child support schedule for a temporary number, and § 504(b-1)(1.5) lets the court credit months of temporary maintenance against the final duration.

Interim attorney's fees under § 501(c-1) are Illinois's "leveling the playing field" provision: a spouse without access to funds petitions, with affidavits, for an interim award — including a retainer for counsel not yet hired — and the court must decide it summarily, after a response that discloses what the other spouse has paid their own lawyer. The factors include each party's income and property (including marital property one spouse controls), the complexity of the issues, each party's access to information, and the fees paid or expected on the other side. Interim awards are advances against the final allocation of fees under § 503(j) and § 508.

Exclusive possession of the marital residence is available under § 501(c-2) during the case, but only where the court finds that the physical or mental well-being of a spouse or child is jeopardized by continued joint occupancy — a higher bar than most states. Absent that showing, neither spouse can be ordered out before judgment, which is why a spouse who leaves should document that the departure was not an abandonment of the children or the home. The moving out guide covers the considerations.

Orders of protection are governed by the Illinois Domestic Violence Act, 750 ILCS 60. An emergency order is available ex parte, lasts up to 21 days, and can be sought in the divorce case or separately at any courthouse; a plenary order after a hearing lasts up to two years and may include exclusive possession of the residence, no-contact provisions, temporary allocation of parental responsibilities, and firearm surrender. A finding of abuse is relevant to parenting (§ 602.7(b)(14)) and is an impediment to mediation. The domestic violence guide covers the overlay.

Health insurance for the children is addressed in every support order under § 505.2; a spouse's coverage under the other's employer plan continues until judgment, and Illinois's spousal continuation law (215 ILCS 5/367.2) lets a divorced spouse elect to stay on a fully insured Illinois group policy after the judgment — up to two years generally, and until Medicare eligibility if the ex-spouse is 55 or older — in addition to federal COBRA. The health insurance after divorce guide explains how to elect it.

Step 8: Settlement — the Marital Settlement Agreement and What the Court Reviews

Most Illinois divorces end in a Marital Settlement Agreement under 750 ILCS 5/502. The statute requires it to be in writing before an oral prove-up except for good cause, and it makes the agreement's terms — other than child support and parental responsibilities — binding on the court unless the court finds them unconscionable after considering the parties' economic circumstances (§ 502(b)). Where the testimony at prove-up conflicts with the written agreement, the written terms control. If the court finds the agreement unconscionable it may send the parties back to revise it or hold a hearing and decide the issues itself (§ 502(c)).

The agreement must address what the judgment must address under § 401(b): division of marital property and assignment of non-marital property; maintenance — an award, a waiver, or a reservation, and if an award, whether it is modifiable (§ 502(f) lets the parties make maintenance non-modifiable in amount, duration, or both; absent that language it is modifiable on a substantial change in circumstances); child support that either follows the § 505 guideline or states the guideline amount and the reason for deviating; allocation of parental responsibilities and the parenting plan (filed as a separate Allocation Judgment in most counties); health insurance and uncovered medical expenses; life insurance securing support; college expenses under § 513; allocation of debts; attorney's fees; and the companion animals (§ 502(a) requires it). Property provisions are never modifiable (§ 502(f)). The agreement's terms are set out in the judgment and enforceable both by contempt and as contract (§ 502(d)–(e)), so the "incorporated vs. merged" distinction that matters in other states does not arise.

Two numbers the court will check against the statute:

• Maintenance. The court must first find that maintenance is appropriate under the § 504(a) factors; if it is, and the parties' combined gross income is under $500,000 and the payor has no prior support obligation, the guideline applies: 33⅓% of the payor's net income minus 25% of the payee's net income, capped so that the payee's net plus maintenance does not exceed 40% of the parties' combined net income. Duration is the length of the marriage at filing multiplied by a factor from .20 (under five years) rising four points per year to .80 (19 to 20 years); at 20 years or more, the court awards maintenance for the length of the marriage or indefinitely. An agreement may depart from the guideline, but the judgment must state the guideline amount and the reason (§ 504(b-2)). The alimony guide and the alimony calculator guide cover how formula states like Illinois work in practice.
• Child support. Since July 1, 2017, Illinois has used an income shares model: the parents' combined net incomes (using the HFS standardized tax tables or an individualized calculation) are applied to the HFS schedule and the basic obligation is split in proportion to income. When each parent has the children for 146 or more overnights a year, the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, each parent's share is weighted by the other parent's time, and the obligations are offset (§ 505(a)(3.8)). Child care, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary expenses are added. Support is paid through the State Disbursement Unit by income withholding unless the parties agree otherwise and the court approves. The child support guide covers the mechanics.

Property division itself is "in just proportions" under the twelve § 503(d) factors — contribution to acquisition and to the non-marital estate, dissipation, the value assigned to each spouse, duration, economic circumstances including the desirability of awarding the home to the parent with the children, prior-marriage obligations, prenuptial or postnuptial agreements, age and health and income and needs, the custodial provisions, whether the division is in lieu of or in addition to maintenance, future acquisition opportunity, and the tax consequences of the division on each party — and expressly without regard to marital misconduct. The understanding property division guide covers how these factors apply; the tax-consequences factor, like Pennsylvania's, is the hook for presenting after-tax values rather than face amounts.

Step 9: The Prove-Up Hearing and the Judgment

Illinois requires a hearing in nearly every dissolution, agreed or defaulted — a short one, called the prove-up. Under § 403(e) the court must find that irreconcilable differences caused the breakdown, and under § 2-1301(d) it requires proof even in default. The petitioner (and in an agreed case usually both spouses) testifies, under oath, to a script that takes five to fifteen minutes: name, address, and 90 days' residency; the date and place of the marriage; the children and the pregnancy question; that irreconcilable differences caused the breakdown, that reconciliation efforts failed or would be impracticable, and (if applicable) the date of separation; that each spouse has read and signed the Marital Settlement Agreement and Parenting Plan voluntarily, after disclosure, without duress; that the terms are fair; that the parenting-education certificate is on file; and the name-change request. The judge reviews the agreement for unconscionability and the child-support figure against the guideline, asks whatever follow-up questions the testimony prompts, and signs.

Where and how. Cook County's Domestic Relations Division hears agreed and default prove-ups remotely by videoconference as a matter of routine, scheduled through the assigned judge's calendar; the collar counties and downstate circuits vary between remote and in-person. A growing number of circuits allow an affidavit prove-up — a sworn written statement covering the same script — for agreed cases with complete paperwork, by local rule or administrative order; ask the clerk or the judge's coordinator whether yours does. Bring (or upload in advance) the signed Marital Settlement Agreement, Parenting Plan and Allocation Judgment, Uniform Order for Support and income-withholding notice if support is ordered, the Financial Affidavits if the court requires them at prove-up, parenting-education certificates, the Affidavit as to Military Service in a default, the completed Certificate of Dissolution (VR-700), and the proposed Judgment of Dissolution.

Joint Simplified Dissolution. Couples who qualify under 750 ILCS 5/452 may skip most of the above and file a joint petition on the clerk's forms: no children and no pregnancy; married eight years or less; neither spouse owns real estate or retirement benefits other than IRAs worth under $10,000 combined; total marital property under $50,000 net of debt; combined gross income under $60,000 and neither spouse over $30,000; both waive maintenance; full disclosure of assets and all marital-years tax returns; and a written agreement dividing everything over $100 and allocating the debts and the companion animals. Both spouses appear in person, the court examines them, no transcript is made, and the judgment is entered the same day if the agreement is not unconscionable (§ 453). The statute requires the clerk's brochure to warn, in boldface, that the judgment permanently adjudicates all financial rights and that the parties waive their right to appeal (§ 457). The income and asset caps exclude most couples who own a home or have a pension, which is why the ordinary agreed dissolution remains the common path.

The judgment. Under § 413(a) the court must enter judgment within 60 days of the close of proofs (90 with a good-cause order). The Judgment of Dissolution is final when entered — there is no waiting period and either spouse may remarry immediately, even while an appeal that does not challenge the grounds is pending. Under § 401(b) the judgment may not be entered unless the court has decided or reserved every issue of parental responsibilities, child support, maintenance, and property; a judgment that dissolves the marriage and reserves the rest — bifurcation — is available by agreement or on a motion and finding of "appropriate circumstances," which Illinois courts have read narrowly (a party's imminent death, a planned remarriage, a spouse's refusal to participate). The clerk records the dissolution with the county clerk where the marriage is registered and forwards the Certificate of Dissolution to the Department of Public Health within 45 days after the end of the month (§ 413(b); § 707). Unless you ask otherwise, the judgment includes a provision authorizing you to resume a former name at any time without a separate name-change petition (§ 413(c)).

Step 10: After the Judgment

Appeal and post-judgment attack. A notice of appeal is due within 30 days of the judgment (Supreme Court Rule 303), and a motion to reconsider or vacate within 30 days under § 2-1203 or § 2-1301(e). A § 2-1401 petition to vacate for fraud, newly discovered evidence, or a meritorious defense the party was diligent in presenting may be filed within two years; concealment of assets at the time of the agreement is the classic ground, and a settlement procured by a false Financial Affidavit is vulnerable to it.

Retirement accounts. Private-sector plans are divided by QDRO, which should be entered with the judgment. Illinois public pensions — TRS, SURS, SERS, IMRF, the Chicago and Cook County funds, and the police and fire funds — are divided only by a QILDRO (Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Order) under 40 ILCS 5/1-119, on each system's own form. A QILDRO can award the alternate payee a dollar amount or a percentage of the retirement benefit, a refund, or a partial lump sum, but cannot award survivor benefits, and for a member who joined the system before July 1, 1999, the system will not honor the order without the member's signed Consent to Issuance of QILDRO — a point that must be negotiated into the agreement, because no court can compel the signature. A QILDRO Calculation Court Order follows at retirement to convert a percentage into dollars. The QDRO guide and the retirement accounts guide cover drafting and the marital-portion formulas.

Real estate. The spouse keeping the home records a quitclaim deed from the other, with the county's transfer-tax exemption statement (transfers pursuant to a dissolution judgment are generally exempt from the state and county real estate transfer tax under 35 ILCS 200/31-45; the recorder will tell you which paragraph to cite), and refinances or assumes the mortgage by the deadline in the agreement. The quitclaim deed guide and the divorce and real estate guide cover the sequence and what happens when the refinance falls through.

Maintenance and support going forward. Maintenance terminates on the death of either party, the payee's remarriage, or the payee's cohabitation "with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis" (§ 510(c)); the payor must still move to terminate, and a payee who conceals cohabitation owes repayment from the date it began. Modification of modifiable maintenance and of child support requires a substantial change in circumstances (§ 510(a)); for support there is also a three-year review mechanism through the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The modification after divorce guide and the enforcing the decree guide cover both directions.

Everything else — beneficiary changes (Illinois revokes a former spouse's designation on most instruments by operation of law under 755 ILCS 5/4-7 for wills and 750 ILCS 5/503(b-5) for life insurance, but not on ERISA plans), account retitling, estate documents, the children's school and medical records, and the tax-filing status fixed by the judgment date — is in the post-divorce checklist.

What It Costs and How Long It Takes

Path	Court fees	Attorney fees (typical)	Time from filing
Joint Simplified Dissolution	≈ $300–$400 (one filing, no appearance fee)	$0	≈ 2–6 weeks
Agreed dissolution, no children, no attorneys	≈ $500–$650 (petition + appearance)	$0	≈ 6–10 weeks
Agreed dissolution with children, attorneys drafting	≈ $550–$750 plus parenting class	≈ $3,000–$8,000 per spouse	≈ 3–5 months (class and plan deadlines govern)
Contested parenting, settles after mediation	≈ $700–$1,200 plus GAL/child representative share	≈ $10,000–$30,000 per spouse	≈ 9–15 months
Contested financial and parenting trial	≈ $1,000–$2,500 plus experts	≈ $30,000–$100,000+ per spouse	≈ 15–18 months (Rule 922 ceiling)

The absence of a waiting period means an agreed Illinois divorce is limited only by how fast the paperwork is complete and how soon the judge can hear a prove-up — in most suburban and downstate courtrooms, a few weeks; in Cook County, four to eight weeks for a remote slot. The children's deadlines (90 days to the first conference, 60 more for the class, 120 for the plan) set a floor of roughly three to four months in any case with minors. Fee figures are drawn from circuit clerk schedules and self-help materials; attorney fees are market estimates and vary with the county and the estate.

Why Prove-Ups Get Continued

Illinois judges rarely refuse a judgment outright; they continue the prove-up and send the parties back to fix the paperwork. The common reasons:

• No parenting-education certificate on file for one or both parents. Rule 924 is enforced at prove-up.
• Child support does not match the guideline and the agreement does not state the guideline amount and the reason for the deviation (§ 505(a)(3.4)), or the Financial Affidavits needed to check it are missing.
• Maintenance waived without the Financial Affidavits showing the court the waiver is not unconscionable — many judges will not accept a waiver by a lower-earning spouse without seeing the numbers.
• The Parenting Plan is incomplete — missing the holiday schedule, the right of first refusal, relocation notice, or the dispute-resolution clause — or is not signed by both parents.
• Companion animals not addressed in the agreement (§ 502(a) requires it).
• The respondent was served by publication and the petitioner is asking for maintenance, support, or a division of property outside Illinois that the court cannot award without personal jurisdiction.
• The Certificate of Dissolution is missing or incomplete; § 707 requires the judge to inspect it before entering judgment.
• The Affidavit as to Military Service is missing in a default.
• Residency — the petitioner moved to Illinois less than 90 days before the prove-up and the court cannot make the § 401(a) finding yet.
• The agreement is not in writing and the court does not find good cause to take an oral agreement (§ 502(a)).
• A QDRO or QILDRO is referenced but not drafted, and the judge's standing order requires it to be entered with the judgment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a waiting period in Illinois? No. The six months in § 401(a-5) is a presumption, not a requirement. If you and your spouse agree on everything, you can be divorced as soon as the paperwork is complete and the court can hear a prove-up, whether you separated last month or last year.

Do we have to be living apart? No. You do not need to be separated at all to file or to be divorced. Living separate and apart for six months before the judgment makes the ground irrebuttable; otherwise the petitioner testifies that irreconcilable differences caused the breakdown and reconciliation has failed, which the court accepts.

My spouse refuses to participate. Can I still get divorced? Yes. Serve the petition (by publication if necessary), move for default after 30 days, and appear at a default prove-up. You will be divorced; what you can obtain by default depends on what the petition asked for and, if service was by publication, on the limits of in rem jurisdiction.

Do we have to go to court? Almost always, at least once, for the prove-up — though in Cook County and many other circuits it is a video hearing, and some circuits accept a prove-up affidavit for agreed cases. Joint Simplified Dissolution requires both spouses in person.

Does Illinois have legal separation? Yes. A spouse living separate and apart without fault may petition for legal separation under § 402, which produces a judgment for maintenance and support without dissolving the marriage — and divides property only if both spouses agree (§ 402(b)). Property acquired after a legal-separation judgment is non-marital (§ 503(a)(3)), which is the one way to stop the marital estate from growing short of a divorce. The legal separation vs. divorce guide covers the trade-offs.

Can we get divorced now and divide the property later? Only with both spouses' agreement or on a finding of "appropriate circumstances" under § 401(b), and Illinois courts have been reluctant to find them. Expect the judge to require the property, maintenance, support, and parenting issues to be resolved or expressly reserved in the same judgment.

My spouse has been draining our accounts. What can I do? Petition for a temporary restraining order under § 501(a)(2) with the account statements attached, and serve a notice of intent to claim dissipation under § 503(d)(2) before the deadline so the spending is charged against your spouse's share at trial. Filing the petition promptly also fixes the five-year lookback.

What is the fastest route if we agree on everything and have no children? If you meet the § 452 caps, Joint Simplified Dissolution. If you do not — most homeowners and anyone with a 401(k) above the IRA threshold will not — the petitioner e-files the petition, the respondent files an Entry of Appearance the same day, both sign the Marital Settlement Agreement, and the petitioner's attorney or the self-help desk requests the first available prove-up date.

Does it matter who files first? Less than people think. Venue is the same either way, the court's view of the merits is unaffected, and Illinois has no advantage for the petitioner at trial. The two practical effects: the petitioner controls the initial timing and pays the higher filing fee, and the five-year dissipation lookback runs from the petition date.

How Divorce Navigator Helps

Illinois's process is fast when the numbers are ready and slow when they are not. The Financial Affidavit is due within 30 days in Cook County and before any temporary-relief hearing everywhere; the maintenance guideline and the income-shares child support calculation both depend on net incomes that have to be computed consistently; and because the marital estate keeps accruing to the day of judgment, the inventory you bring to the prove-up has to be current, not a snapshot from the day you separated.

Divorce Navigator builds the asset and debt inventory that becomes your Financial Affidavit and your settlement proposal, keeps the tax returns, pay stubs, and statements the statute requires behind it in a secure data room so the 30-day deadline is a download rather than a scramble, and models property division with after-tax values — the § 503(d)(12) tax-consequences factor — alongside maintenance scenarios that respect the 33⅓/25 formula, the 40% cap, and the duration multiplier, and child support under the income-shares schedule with the shared-care adjustment. You walk into mediation, the pretrial, or the prove-up already knowing what each proposal is worth.

Start by organizing your finances and modeling your scenarios before you file, since the valuation date is the date of trial and the estate is measured as of then.

Related Resources

• Divorce in Illinois: Laws, Process, and What You Need to Know — the property factors, the maintenance guideline, child support, and parental responsibilities
• Filing for Divorce in Pennsylvania: Step-by-Step — mutual consent after 90 days, an estate that closes at separation, and a decree on a praecipe
• Filing for Divorce in New York: Step-by-Step — no waiting period, statewide Automatic Orders, and a twenty-form uncontested packet
• Filing for Divorce in California: Step-by-Step — a community property state with a six-month waiting period and bifurcation
• Filing for Divorce in Texas: Step-by-Step — a 60-day wait, county standing orders, and a prove-up hearing in every case
• Filing for Divorce in Florida: Step-by-Step — Supreme Court forms, a 45-day mandatory disclosure rule, and a 20-day wait
• Uncontested vs. Contested Divorce — which path fits your case and what each costs
• Legal Separation vs. Divorce — Illinois's § 402 judgment and the one way to stop the estate from growing
• Divorce Financial Affidavit Walkthrough — completing the statewide Financial Affidavit
• Divorce Asset Inventory Template — the inventory behind the affidavit
• The Divorce Discovery Process — interrogatories, subpoenas, and depositions under the Supreme Court Rules
• Temporary Orders in Divorce — § 501 restraining orders, temporary support, and interim fees
• Moving Out During Divorce — when leaving the house helps and when it hurts
• Marital vs. Separate Property — classification and why Illinois's estate stays open until judgment
• Understanding Property Division — how the twelve factors are applied
• Alimony and Spousal Support Guide — how formula states set maintenance
• Alimony Calculator Guide — running the 33⅓/25 formula and the duration multiplier
• How to Pay Child Support — the State Disbursement Unit and income withholding
• Divorce Mediation vs. Litigation — what court-ordered mediation looks like
• Divorce with Children — parenting plans, the four-hour class, and support
• Custody Evaluation Checklist — what a § 604.10 evaluation involves
• Divorce and Domestic Violence — orders of protection under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
• Business Valuation in Divorce — valuing a closely held company for trial
• QDRO Guide — dividing private plans and the QILDRO rules for Illinois public pensions
• Retirement Accounts in Divorce — marital-portion formulas and tax traps
• Health Insurance After Divorce — COBRA and Illinois spousal continuation
• Quitclaim Deed in Divorce — transferring title after the judgment
• Divorce and Real Estate — keeping, selling, or refinancing the home
• Modification After Divorce — changing maintenance, support, and parenting orders
• Enforcing a Divorce Decree — contempt and collection
• Military Divorce — residency for service members and the military affidavit
• International Divorce — serving and dividing property with a spouse abroad
• Post-Divorce Checklist — everything after the judgment is entered
• State-Specific Divorce Guides — rules in other states

Browse all of our divorce guides and checklists for more resources.

Take the Next Step

An Illinois divorce rewards the spouse who files complete, consistent financial paperwork early, meets the children's deadlines without being chased, and walks into the prove-up with an agreement the judge can approve on the first reading. Divorce Navigator gives you the organized inventory and the modeled scenarios to do exactly that, so the judgment you ask the court to enter is one you understand.

Get started for free →