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A free guide for an Illinois divorce, with or without children. It gives legal information, not legal advice. It does not replace a lawyer. It can be wrong, so check every date with the court clerk.
If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
A divorce petition is not a case for money, so Ill. S. Ct. R. 101(d) controls: the summons requires an appearance “within 30 days after service, exclusive of the day of service.” The clock is keyed to service of summons, which the clerk issues under 735 ILCS 5/2-201(a).
On an individual, 735 ILCS 5/2-203 allows only two ways to serve a person: hand the papers to them, or leave them at their home with someone 13 or older and also mail a copy. Email is neither. Serving by email needs a judge’s order under 735 ILCS 5/2-203.1. A judge gives that order only when the first two ways cannot work, and only after a sworn statement that the person could not be found.
Counsel emailing a file-stamped petition, and asking that your attorney call, has no procedural effect. It starts no clock, and it does not confer personal jurisdiction.
Ill. S. Ct. R. 11 is about sending papers once both spouses are already in the case. It is not a way to serve the first papers. If a court never had power over a person, its judgment is void and can be challenged at any time under 735 ILCS 5/2-1401(f), outside the two-year limit.
Each deadline is a starting date plus a number of days set by law. They are worked out from the dates in your case details. A deadline that lands on a weekend or court holiday moves to the next court day.
“The time within which any act provided by law is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is Saturday or Sunday or is a holiday … and then it shall also be excluded. If the day succeeding such Saturday, Sunday or holiday is also a holiday or a Saturday or Sunday then such succeeding day shall also be excluded.”
Intermediate weekends and holidays count. Only the landing day rolls, and it cascades forward through consecutive non-business days.
| Method | Service complete |
|---|---|
| Electronic / personal delivery | Day it is sent. No extra days |
| Third-party commercial carrier | Third court day after it is given to the carrier. 3 court days |
| U.S. mail | Four days after mailing. 4 calendar days |
Carriers count court days. Mail counts calendar days.
A longer list of things to do and check, in order. Each item says which rule makes it matter. What you tick is saved in this browser.
Keep a list of every paper in your case, so nothing gets lost.
“Add from files” keeps a copy of each file (up to 25 MB) in this browser, so you can open it later. The copies never leave this device and are not part of a backup file. Emails count too: save one as a PDF and add it like any other file.
Keep filed papers, drafts, blank forms and proof in separate folders. Then you can find the right paper fast if a judge or the other side asks for it.
CASE_FILE/ ├── 00_INDEX/ manifest, this file, chronology ├── 01_PLEADINGS/ filed & file-stamped only ├── 02_DRAFTS/ unfiled work product │ └── _archive/ superseded drafts ├── 03_CORRESPONDENCE/ letters in & out, email PDFs ├── 04_EVIDENCE/ │ ├── YYYY-MM-DD_incident/ reports, media, transcripts │ └── media/ large video originals ├── 05_FINANCIAL/ 401(k), statements, affidavits ├── 06_FORMS_BLANK/ unfilled court forms ├── 07_RESEARCH/ statutes, local rules, mediator list └── 08_TOOLS/ blackletter, scripts
Statewide law says what to file. Each judge’s own rules, called a standing order, say how and when. This page shows them for the Will County family courtrooms.
Judge Orenic's standing order, in effect from 6/24/2026, says Courtroom 704 only hears cases where neither spouse has a lawyer. If either side has a lawyer, the case is moved right away to Judge Kennison (Courtroom 703), who gives it to another judge.
So if either side has a lawyer, the case belongs with Meyers (701), Granholm (702), Kennison (703) or McSteen (705). Check which judge you actually have, because their rules for pre-trial papers and financial affidavits are very different.
Source: circuitclerkofwillcounty.com/Judge-Rules/Judge-Orenic
Every family courtroom hears motions at 9:00 a.m. No courtroom hears disputed matters on Zoom. Every judge asks you not to send extra copies.
Will County's Form 17B (revised 04/26) is titled “Appearance by Attorney”: it is for lawyers only. Will County has no numbered appearance form for people without a lawyer.
Divorce cases need their own appearance form. The general civil appearance form is also wrong. The correct form is the statewide ATJ 111.5 (03/25) “Appearance (Divorce).”
The clerk’s divorce page still lists an older code, “DV-A 111.4.” Use the current form.
The 12th Circuit local rules are only posted as a scanned picture, so the words cannot be searched or copied. We know each rule’s number and topic, but not its exact words.
A readable copy of the local rules (Parts 8 and 18) from the courthouse law library (3rd floor, 100 W. Jefferson St., Joliet) would settle most of these.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Service (of process) | Official delivery of the lawsuit to you. It is what gives the court power over you and starts your response clock. |
| Summons | The court’s cover document ordering a response within a set time. |
| Appearance | The filing that makes you a participant in the case. |
| Petitioner / Respondent | Who filed the case, and who responds to it. |
| Without a lawyer | Handling your own case, with no lawyer. Court papers may call this “self-represented.” |
| Personal jurisdiction | The court’s power over you as a person. |
| Ex parte | Heard with only one side present. |
| Default | Losing by not appearing or not responding in time. |
| Temporary relief | Court orders under 750 ILCS 5/501 that hold things in place while the case runs. |
| Maintenance | Spousal support. The word that replaced alimony in Illinois. |
| Dissipation | Shared money or property one spouse used just for themselves while the marriage was ending. |
| Discovery | The formal exchange of information and documents between the parties. |
| Prove-up | The short final hearing where the judgment is entered. |
| Standing order | A judge’s published rules for how their own courtroom runs. |
| CMC | Case management conference. A scheduling check-in with the court. |
| Motion / Notice of motion | A written request for a ruling, and the notice that tells the other side when it will be presented. |
Deadlines, spousal support, and the time limits for claiming wasted money. The rule under each answer shows where it comes from.
The formula is used only if the two of you earn under $500,000 together before taxes, neither pays support from an earlier relationship, and the judge agrees it fits. The judge first decides whether any support is owed at all. A long marriage alone does not mean it is.
If one spouse used shared money just for themselves while the marriage was ending (called dissipation), the other can ask for it back. There are two look-back limits, and a notice deadline: the later of 60 days before trial or 30 days after the information exchange closes.
A rough child support number is on Your children, next to the nights the kids spend in each home.
Every date in this guide is worked out from what you enter here. It is saved only in this browser.
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What people do to get ready once they know a divorce is coming, and moves to watch for from the other side. This is general information about the law, not advice for your case.
Some people prepare by making the other spouse look richer, or themselves poorer, before the case starts. If you see any of these, write it down with dates and talk to a lawyer.
What it can look like: Hours cut, a move to a lower-paid job, a raise or bonus put off, pay taken in cash.
What the law says: Spousal support is worked out from each spouse’s take-home pay. 750 ILCS 5/504(b-1) When splitting property, the judge also looks at each spouse’s income and their chance to earn in the future. 750 ILCS 5/503(d) Whether a judge can count income a spouse could earn but chose not to is not confirmed yet. Ask a lawyer.
What helps: Pay stubs and work schedules from before and after the change. Messages about it. Tax returns that show past income.
What it can look like: Cash withdrawals, transfers to family or a new account, big purchases, gambling, money spent on a new partner.
What the law says: Money one spouse used just for themselves while the marriage was ending is called dissipation, and the other spouse can claim it. The claim needs a written notice with the dates and what was taken. It cannot reach back more than 3 years after you knew, or 5 years before the case was filed. 750 ILCS 5/503(d)(2) Once a case is open, a judge can order a spouse not to move or hide property. 750 ILCS 5/501(a)(2)
What helps: Statements that show the money going out. Your dated log. The wasted-money time limits calculator.
What it can look like: Accounts you did not know about, business income kept off the books, a financial affidavit that leaves things out.
What the law says: If a spouse files an affidavit that is wrong on purpose or carelessly, the judge must order “significant penalties and sanctions,” which can include paying the other side’s costs and lawyer fees. 750 ILCS 5/501(a)(1)
What helps: Copies of statements and tax returns made before the case started, so you can compare.
What it can look like: New credit cards or loans, especially in both names.
What the law says: Debts taken on during the marriage are part of what gets divided, just like property. 750 ILCS 5/503(a)
What helps: Your credit report, and statements showing when each debt started and what it paid for.
What it can look like: A spouse says an account, car or valuable was a gift, an inheritance, or theirs from before the marriage.
What the law says: Everything gotten during the marriage is presumed to belong to both spouses. The spouse who says otherwise has to prove it. 750 ILCS 5/503(b)(1)
What helps: Records of when and how each thing was bought, and with whose money.
Laws change, and every case is different. Check anything here with a lawyer before you act on it.
List what you and your spouse own and owe. See what a house is worth to each of you, and your choices for it. It all stays on this device.
Add each thing you or your spouse own, and each debt. This list also helps you fill in your financial affidavit.
You sell the house. At the closing, the mortgage is paid off first. Then you split what is left the way your settlement agreement says.
You will need a price you both agree on, and someone to sell it.
The one who keeps the house pays the other for their part of the equity. That is a buyout. The keeper gets a new loan in their own name. That is a refinance. The other signs a quitclaim deed, and it is recorded with the county.
You will need an appraisal, a bank that will refinance, and a deed. If the keeper cannot refinance, both names stay on the loan.
Some couples keep the house for a time, then sell it. Write down who pays the mortgage, the taxes, and the repairs, and when it will be sold.
Both names stay on the loan until then. If a payment is missed, it hurts you both.
During the case, a judge can let one spouse stay in the home alone only if living together puts someone’s health or safety at risk. There must be a sworn petition, notice, and a full hearing. 750 ILCS 5/501(c-2)
A retirement account or a pension earned during the marriage is usually marital property. To split one, the judge signs a special order. Then the money can move without a penalty. For most job plans it is a QDRO. For Illinois government pensions it is a QILDRO.
A debt in both names stays a debt of you both until it is paid. That is true even if the judgment says one of you pays it. If that person does not pay, the lender can still ask the other.
Plan the nights the kids spend in each home, see a rough child support number, and draft a parenting plan. It all stays on this device. The parts about children are new, and some are not confirmed yet. Each one says so.
Pick a schedule. You will see two weeks of nights, and how many nights that is in a year.
Illinois uses income shares. Each parent pays a part, based on what each one earns. Not confirmed yet. Ask a lawyer or the self-help desk.
You need one number from the state’s child support table: the support for your two take-home pays added together, and your number of kids. The clerk or the self-help desk can show you the table.
Fill this in to think it through and to talk it over. It is a draft for you, not the court’s form.
This is called parental responsibilities. For each one, pick who decides.
Where this comes from: the state’s Divorce with Children Overview (updated 03/2020). Anything marked not confirmed is not from there.
What the legal words in Blackletter mean, in plain words. Anywhere in Blackletter, a word with a dotted line under it is on this list. Tap the word to see what it means.
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Everything else in Blackletter.
Every step of a divorce, in order. If you have children, their steps are added in. Add the dates you have and each step works out its own due date.
The petitioner is the spouse who starts the divorce case. The respondent is the spouse who answers it.
If yes, the steps for children are added. Your children
Leave a date blank if it has not happened yet.