Uncontested Divorce in Illinois

Author: David Wolkowitz

  • No to Divorce Business Partners

    If you want an uncontested divorce in Illinois, you probably realize it’s the quickest and most affordable way to get divorced in Illinois. That’s the great benefit of actually amicably handling matters with your spouse. As an Illinois divorce lawyer, I routinely help couples who know that peacefully divorcing is the way to go. But know this: sometimes, a desire to get along can create risks for the future.

    The point of a divorce is to cut ties – not to make yourselves business partners in your future post-divorce life. I wrote this article about that aspect of divorcing. (more…)

  • 5 Tips: Quick Divorce in Illinois

    “How do I get a quick divorce in Illinois?”

    As an uncontested divorce lawyer in Illinois, that’s one of the most common questions I get. It doesn’t matter if the person is from Chicago, or the Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry or Will. Everyone seems to want a quick and affordable divorce.

    And that makes sense. That’s why I put together this list of Tips for Quick Divorce in Illinois.

    Tip #1: Check with your spouse

    I get many calls from people who say they want an uncontested divorce, but they really haven’t yet spoke to their spouse yet.

    An uncontested divorce, or amicable divorce, is divorce by agreement. Therefore, the first step in getting an uncontested divorce in Illinois is to check with your spouse to see if he or she actually agrees to getting divorced. At times, people not only refused to agree to the terms of a divorce, but also refuse to agree to the divorce at all.

    Tip #2: Retain a lawyer

    I have numerous cases where people tried to handle a divorce themselves, and even used some shady online divorce websites. That’s a bad idea for so many reasons.

    Many of the divorce websites are not even run by lawyers. The users simply input information into a website, and a settlement agreement pops out.  The problem is that the website cannot possible ask the questions a lawyer would ask, and cannot spot problems like a lawyer would spot. Websites don’t think – they just spit out information.

    And when clients try to handle divorces on their own, results aren’t much better. They draft clauses that are unenforceable, or confusing. And sometimes the judge doesn’t let the divorce go through. Or, even worse, the judge allows the divorce to proceed and the former spouses find themselves in court years later because of a poorly drafted settlement agreement.

    Tip #3:  Inventory your assets and debt.

    With few exceptions, everything acquired during a marriage is marital property.

    And contrary to popular belief, it’s almost totally irrelevant if the property is titled only to one person.  If you don’t properly inventory your assets and debts, your lawyer will not be able to properly protect your rights.

    Tip #4:  Get specific regarding the kids

    I find that many people who want an uncontested divorce in Illinois have decided they agree to “just work things out” with the kids. In other words, then want to keep the parenting agreement totally ambiguous and just decided as they go along how to handle the kids.

    But that’s not going to work. A judge who reads that agreement should not let it go through. Why? Because such an agreement would almost invariably lead to fighting years after the divorce.

    As a lawyer, I would help you draft a parenting agreement that would help keep you out of court.

    Tip #5: Stop using family and friends as lawyers

    So many people call me and spend half the phone call talking about what some uncle or friend told them. Or maybe they waste time talking about some person they know that got divorce and what happened in that divorce. That type of stuff is almost always a waste of time.

    Instead of comparing to other peoples’ divorces, and getting bad advice from non-lawyers, you should call your own lawyer. My job would be to help you reach reasonable conclusions and how to get divorce quickly and affordably.

    What you should understand is that all divorces are different because all families are different. Further, laws change over time. And what’s more, judges vary. Therefore, the best way to avoid wasting time might be to stop using family as friends as lawyers.

    Starting a quick and affordable divorce

    I handled many contested matters, and I’m not scared of a trial. But I’m almost certain that an quick and affordable uncontested divorce in Illinois is probably your best option.

    Depending in what county your case will be heard, the quickest your case might be is a bit under 3 weeks to under 2 months.

  • How long does it take to get divorced in Illinois?

    If there’s one question I get more than most others, it’s “How long does it take to get divorced in Illinois?”

    What’s the quickest way I could get divorced?

    This site is clearly about uncontested divorce in Illinois. What’s that? It’s when parties agree to all aspects of their divorce: money, kids, debt – all that.

    How fast an uncontested divorce moves in based on the people involved, and the court in the county of the divorce. It’s possible for an uncontested divorce to take as little as two and a half weeks. Or maybe it will take more than a month.

    But to truly understand the fantastic speed of an uncontested divorce, you should consider what happens if your divorce is NOT uncontested. That is, what happens when parties fight in court.

    What steps are there in a litigious divorce?

    How long your divorce takes depends primarily on how much fighting you do with the other party. In divorce court, certain procedures must be followed. Consider the following  limited list of what my occur in a contested divorce:

    • Time to respond:Whenever someone files something in court, the other party gets to respond. The other party can have 21 days or more to respond.
    • Discovery: Discovery is the process of gathering evidence. Sending out subpoenas, doing depositions, etc.  Discovery can be expensive, and time-consuming. It can take a year to wade through complex finances.
    • Filing motions: Motions are how parties as the court to do one thing or the other. Each time a motion is filed, the other party can respond, and a chain reaction occurs.
    • Court’s schedule: Courts are busy. A hearing or trial might be scheduled for more than two moths away.
    • Other matters: If one party is not following court orders, that could also cause a delay.

    How to move forward

    I handle uncontested and contested divorces. If someone wants to pay me to fight their case, I can do that. But I often try to steer people towards coming to an agreement and getting an amicable and quick divorce. For those interested in an uncontested divorce, I offer representation for a flat fee.

     

  • Divorce: Quick and Affordable

    Getting an uncontested divorce can be quick and affordable. And you can use a lawyer. Let me elaborate.

    Quick

    Uncontested divorce is quick because it is by agreement. Fighting in court can take a long time. For example, even the most simple motion can take months to be heard. In contrast, in an uncontested divorce, instead of fighting about small issues, parties agree on all issues. With the process I use, my client only has to come to court once – at the end of the divorce.

    Affordable – with a flat fee

    Uncontested divorce is affordable because you do not have to pay a lawyer for seemingly endless trips to court. For example, in a divorce where there is disagreement, a lawyer might have to got to court four or more times just for one motion filed with the court. And going to court doesn’t take just one hour – it can take half a day.

    With the process I use, I can offer a flat fee for an uncontested divorce in Illinois. This means that your costs in a divorce can be predictable – unlike hiring a lawyer to fight in court.

    Starting an uncontested divorce

    Starting an uncontested divorce in Illinois can be very easy.

    Below is the most simple explanation of the process:

    1. Retain me for a flat fee
    2. Give me information
    3. Review documents I provide
    4. Execute the documents with your spouse
    5. Go to court once to finalize the divorce

    I get many calls from people who have heard that a divorce takes years, or six months, or something else. They talk to uncles, friends, cousins – they hear all sorts of things. The best thing to do is call me to make it as simple as possible.

    Many of the divorces handle take less than one month from my first contact with a client, to the day it s finalized in court. Sure, some take long. And some are quicker. The point is that an uncontested divorce can be quicker than you think and can help you move on with life.

  • Divorce Mediation: What? When? Why?

    Maybe you want an amicable divorce in Illinois but  you can’t quite reach an agreement with your spouse. If so, perhaps you should consider divorce mediation.

    If you want an uncontested divorce but can’t quite reach an agreement, I can mediate your divorce. And as an uncontested divorce lawyer in Illinois, I know what needs to be done.

    (more…)

  • When is the right time to get divorced?

    “What is the best time to get divorced?”, you ask. Well there is no exact right answer, there is something to the thinking that the longer you stay in a bad situation the worse it will get.

    As in Illinois divorce lawyer, I run into people getting divorced because of the following reasons. You can email me or call me at 312-554-5433 if you need to start your uncontested divorce. And consider the below when thinking about the right to time get divorced.

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  • Lake County Divorce: Waukegan court efficient, quick

    If you need a Lake County uncontested divorce lawyer, you an contact me and we can quickly get started on your case.  Contact me online or call 312-543-5433 to get started now. My goal will be to help you make your uncontested divorce affordable and quick.

    Because I am a Lake County divorce lawyer, I can assist clients from the following communities:

    • Highland Park
    • Deerfield
    • Libertyville
    • Lake Zurich
    • Mundelein

    Lake County divorce court location

    The Lake County County Courthouse is at  18 N County St., Waukegan, IL.

    [schema type=”organization” orgtype=”Organization” url=”http://19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us/default.aspx” name=”Divorce Court at Lake County Circuit Court” description=”Circuit court for Lake County Illinois. Location of divorce court.” street=”18 N County Rd” city=”Waukegan” state=”Illinois” postalcode=”60085″ country=”US” phone=”(847) 377-3600″ ]

    Depending upon where you live, that may or may not be convenient. If you don’t want to drive, you can take the Union Pacific North Line which stops right down the street.

    How many times do I have to go to court?

    Divorce isn’t normally associated with good news. But one bit of good news is this: with the process I used for uncontested divorce in Lake County, you only have to appear in court once – on the very last day to get it finalized.

    Meeting your divorce lawyer

    Meeting isn’t really necessary and just drives up costs. With the process I use, meeting before we go to court is unnecessarily.  I look at it this way: you have many better things to do than meet with a lawyer. And for me to keep my fees affordable, I try not to have unnecessary meetings. If you choose a lawyer who insists on a meeting, it is highly likely that that lawyer will charge a fee commensurate with having a meeting – even if the consultation is supposedly free.

    Is there a flat fee?

    Yes. My flat fee is very affordable. However, it does vary based on whether or not you have kids, or house, for example. The good news is that when you pay my flat fee, you don’t have to pay any other court fees – I pay those.

    How fast is an uncontested divorce?

    A divorce in Lake County can take a bit over a month, or longer if you have kids and must take the parenting class (most parents are required to do so). All in all, that’s pretty fast. Normally, the greatest delay is caused by the spouses reviewing that documents.  The quicker the documents are approved, the quicker I can file the case and get a court date.

     

     

  • Online Divorce = Risky Business.

    As a divorce lawyer in Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kendall and Kane counties, my goal is to help people get an affordable and relatively fast divorce.

    If you are like most sane people – you don’t like to spend money on lawyers. Heck, I don’t, and I’m a lawyer.  I’ve found that many married who want to get an affordable divorce are tempted into the dark realm of what is often referred to as “online divorce” – basically a website that will spit out papers that put your future at risk. Be warned, the dangers of non-lawyer websites can become apparent years after a divorce.  I wrote this article to help you avoid trouble with online divorce scams. (more…)