Uncontested Divorce in Illinois

Tag: quick divorce

  • FAQ: Affordable Divorce in Illinois

    Affordable divorce in Illinois is possible when your divorce is uncontested. An uncontested divorce is one where the spouses agree to all issues in the divorce at the very beginning of the process. No fighting, quick, and affordable. Here are a few FAQs for affordable divorce in Illinois.

    How can divorce be affordable?

    Lawyers are never “cheap.” Heck, fighting a traffic ticket can set you back a few hundred bucks.

    But a divorce in Illinois can be affordable if it is uncontested. When a divorce is uncontested, there is no fighting in court, only one court appearance, and much less stress.

    The thing about divorce in Illinois is this – it’s really the fighting that makes it expenses. When people agree to everything, a lawyer just needs to draft a legally-appropriate settlement agreement (and a few other things), and POOF – you’re divorced fairly quickly.

    What do we need to agree to in divorce?

    A divorce should resolve all issues related to our marriage. For example, the most common issues are below:

    1. How to divide assets
    2. How to divide debt
    3. Child support
    4. Spousal maintenance – formerly known as “alimony”
    5. Allocation of parenting responsibilities  – formerly known as “child custody”
    6. Parenting time

    As with most things, the devil is in the details. For example, if you own real estate, it can be somewhat complicated how to properly deal with getting rid of it. But an uncontested divorce lawyer should be familiar with that sort of thing.

    Can we both use the same divorce lawyer?

    If you want your divorce to be affordable, it might be tempting to try to use the “same lawyer” for both people. But that’s an extremely bad idea. In fact, if a potential client insists that I work for both spouses, I tell them I can’t do it. In fact, it is totally unethical for a divorce lawyer to represent both sides of a case.

    The problem is this. Suppose people get along in the beginning of the process. But in the court of drafting a settlement agreement, one person has a question, and wants advice. If a lawyer gave that advice, that would be helping one spouse get an advantage over the other. And that’s the problem. If a lawyer is working for both sides a divorce, the lawyer cannot help one client gain an advantage over the other. Additionally, sometimes a divorce starts off as uncontested, then becomes contested. Which of the two spouses would continue using the same lawyer after the case becomes contested? That’s a mess.

    Many people call me and say that they heard from a friend or relative that a lawyer can work for both spouses. Guess what? That person is uninformed – and they are giving you VERY bad advice if they tell you to use the same lawyer as your spouse.

    Do both spouses need a lawyer?

    So if both spouses cannot use the same lawyer, that means they both need their own lawyer, right?

    Wrong.

    A simplification of the uncontested divorce process is below:

    1. Client gives information to the lawyer
    2. The lawyer drafts documents, and get’s the client’s approval
    3. The client’s spouse reviews and signs the documents. If the spouse wants changes or edits, that can be discussed with the client, then the client can request the lawyer make those changes
    4. The client comes to court to finalize the divorce. The spouse’s appearance is optional, but sometimes a good idea.

    As you will notice, #3 in the above process is about the spouse reviewing and agreeing to sign certain documents, the most important of which is the marital settlement agreement (MSA), and if the spouses have kids, the Judgment for Allocation of Parental Responsibilities.

    At no time is the spouse forced into signing anything. When I draft documents for my clients, I make a large effort to write in plain English as much as possible. I’ve found that most of my client’s spouses have no trouble understanding the terms of the settlement agreements.

    While the spouse of my my client probably doesn’t need a lawyer for full representation, sometimes the spouse does simply want a lawyer to review the settlement agreements. In that case, some lawyers will do that for a very small fee. That way the spouse can feel extra confident in what they are signing.

    Can I get a flat fee divorce?

    As an affordable divorce lawyer in Illinois, I enjoy offering representation for a flat fee.

    I handle uncontested cases for an affordable flat fee because the amount of work required is predictable. With a flat fee, your costs are predictable as well.

    Keep in mind that everything must be agreed upon from the get-go in order to get a lawyer for an affordable flat fee divorce,

  • FAQ – Affordable uncontested divorce options

    If you want a divorce in Illinois but want to spend as little on it as possible, then you’re not a lone. But there any many ways to get divorce. You could hire a divorce lawyer who is paid by the hour, you could get an uncontested divorce with a lawyer for a flat fee, you could represent yourself, and you could use a so-called “divorce website” that prepares documents for you.

    As a uncontested divorce lawyer in Illinois, I represent peopled in uncontested divorce in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. And as a result, I’m always talking to people about the options out there – so I write this FAQ on affordable uncontested divorce options in Illinois.

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  • 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.