Illinois, like many other states, offers different types of divorce option. State law has built-in divorce processes that encourage efficient divorces in an effort to promote the possibility of an amicable divorce.

The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act allows for a process known as a joint simplified dissolution of marriage. It is an expedited form of divorce for those couples who have limited legal issues to contest or work out. In order to qualify for a joint simplified divorce, both you and your spouse must meet the following qualifications:

• Agree to the divorce;
• Complete and submit the paperwork together;
• Are able to attend court for the divorce hearing together;
• Have lived in Illinois for at least 90 days prior to filing the petition;
• Have been married for eight years or less;
• Have been separated and living apart for at least six months;
• Have no children (biological or adopted) together;
• Do not own real property together or any marital property is below a specified fair market value;
• Are not dependent on each other; and
• Are both willing to waive the right to spousal support and maintenance.

Also, both you and your spouse must agree that irreconcilable difference have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Included in the petition, a written agreement must be submitted that divides all assets worth more than $100 and allocates responsibility for any debt or liabilities. The petition also requires you both disclose any other assets and tax returns filed during the years of the marriage.

A recent study by Harvard economists found that DuPage County, Illinois is one of the best in the country, especially for allowing families move up the income ladder.

The Equality of Opportunity Project at Harvard studies economic opportunities for low-income children. It is becoming an increasing reality in the United States that income status at birth has a significant impact on the success of a child and their ability to improve their lives. In many counties, there is little to no income mobility, which means they are not the ideal environments to raise a family. The study found, however, that DuPage County was the opposite.

Success of DuPage County

Spending time with your grandchildren is a loving and enjoyable experience. It benefits both the grandparents and the child. Studies have found that spending time with your grandchildren increases brain activity/memory and helps keep disease like Alzheimer's at bay. However, many grandparents lose out on time with their grandchildren when a family suffers a divorce. It can become an emotional battle when vying for visitation rights on behalf of not only a parent, but a grandparent as well.

Unfortunately, in Illinois there is no guarantee of visitation rights for grandparents, also known as grandparents’ rights. In fact, it is not considered a right under state law, but rather a privilege. This is, in part, due to the fact the Illinois Supreme Court twice held the statute granting grandparents’ visitation rights as unconstitutional.

The Effect on Your Family

Typically, a discussion surrounding paternity rights involves the rights of a married (and subsequently divorcing) father. Unmarried fathers, however, also struggle with paternity battles and the rights they have to their biological child (also known as fathers’ rights).

Historically speaking, unmarried fathers have fewer rights with respect to their child as compared to married men or the unwed mother. The Supreme Court of the United States addressed the constitutional rights of a father in a series of cases during the 1970s. The court found “the existence of a biological link between a child and unmarried father gives the father the opportunity to establish a substantial relationship” with the child. This includes being involved in raising the child.

While the court established these basic principles, the states are responsible for defining and governing paternity within their boundaries. The Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 establishes the basic principles governing the legal relationships between parent and children in the state. The law defines a parent-child relationship as the “legal relationship existing between a child and his natural or adoptive parents … to which the law confers or imposes rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. It includes the mother and child relationship and the father and child relationship.”

With the passage of the Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act in 2011, Illinois moved away from having most of the benefits or rights of marriage available to only traditional married couples. Also known as the Civil Union Act, the short law confers “all the rights, interests, benefits, and burdens” available to married spouses to individuals in analogous circumstances. The statute, however, does this without mention of gender or marital status. What does this mean? Simply put, it puts civil unions on equal footing with marriage from a legal standpoint in the state of Illinois, regardless of gender. Such a law is critical to allowing for couples that may not fall under the traditional definition of marriage to receive equal treatment under the law.

But What about Cohabitation?

There is, however, the question regarding cohabitation. Cohabitating couples are those who are not in a civil union or marriage, but live together and are using an agreement to govern their relationship so that they may enjoy the same rights available to civil unions and marriages. Illinois is one of a few states that does not completely recognize cohabitation agreements. The courts have not revisited the issue since the passage of the Civil Union Act, but various rights granted under the Act to civil unions have been individually challenged in cohabitation agreements.