Divorce in Illinois

How to file for divorce in Illinois

1. Check residency. 90 days of Illinois residency before the divorce judgment is entered.
2. Prepare and file the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the Circuit Court in your county. The filing fee is typically $300 to $400, and you can ask for a fee waiver if you cannot afford it.
3. Serve your spouse, or have them sign an acceptance of service, and file proof of service.
4. Exchange financial disclosures. Both spouses must complete the standardized statewide Financial Affidavit (Family and Divorce Cases) form disclosing income, assets, debts, and expenses.
5. Settle the issues in a written agreement, and a parenting plan if you have children.
6. Wait out the waiting period. No mandatory statewide waiting period after filing before a judgment can be entered. Then ask the court for your final judgment.

Residency and grounds

Residency: 90 days of Illinois residency before the divorce judgment is entered.

Grounds: No-fault only. You do not need to prove anyone did anything wrong.

Separation: None required for an uncontested no-fault case; if the divorce is contested, 6 months of living separate and apart creates an irrebuttable presumption that irreconcilable differences exist.

How property is divided

Illinois uses equitable distribution. Marital property and debts are divided fairly, which often lands near equal but not always. Courts weigh things like the length of the marriage, each spouse's income and earning capacity, and contributions as a homemaker. Read how property is divided.

Custody and child support

Parenting terms: Illinois uses the terms allocation of parental responsibilities. Every decision is made in the child's best interests.

Parenting class: Required statewide for parents with minor children in divorce and parentage cases.

Child support: Illinois uses the income shares model, which combines both parents' incomes, estimates what parents at that income usually spend on children, and divides that amount by each parent's share of income. Try the child support calculator.

Spousal support

Illinois uses a statutory guideline formula (33.33% of the payor's net income minus 25% of the payee's net income, capped so the payee does not receive more than 40% of combined net income) for couples with combined gross income under $500,000, with duration set by a marriage-length multiplier.

Estimate a range with the spousal support calculator, then have a lawyer check it if the numbers are large.

Faster and simpler options

Joint Simplified Dissolution of Marriage: Available when the marriage is 8 years or less, the couple has no children together and neither is pregnant, neither owns real estate, combined property is under $50,000, combined gross income is under $60,000 (each spouse under $30,000), and neither seeks spousal support.

Legal separation: available in Illinois, for couples who want support and parenting orders without ending the marriage.

How long it takes

The minimum is set by the waiting period: no mandatory statewide waiting period after filing before a judgment can be entered. A typical timeline is 2 to 3 months for a simple uncontested case; longer if contested or if a court has a heavy docket. Agreement is what moves the date most; contested cases add months of disclosures, discovery and hearings.

Worth knowing in Illinois

• Illinois eliminated fault-based grounds in 2016; irreconcilable differences is now the only ground for dissolution.
• The Joint Simplified Dissolution procedure is rarely usable because of its strict income, property, and no-children limits.
• Filing fees are set locally and vary by county, for example around $343 in DuPage County and $388 in Cook County.

Some local details vary by county in Illinois, including filing fee, filing fee. Check with your county clerk.

Official resources

Official forms and instructions come from Illinois's courts. Sources we reviewed:

• illinoiscourts.gov
• illinoislegalaid.org
• illinoislegalaid.org
• 19thcircuitcourt.state.il.us
• hfs.illinois.gov

Last reviewed September 2026. Laws and fees change; confirm with your court before you file.