Category Archives: Divorce Process
Will Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act Changes Affect My Pending Divorce?
On January 1, 2016, new laws affecting divorces, child custody disputes, and paternity proceedings take place throughout Illinois. Many of these laws were enacted to reflect current societal realities in Illinois and make the process of obtaining a divorce and/or establishing a parent-child relationship easier. But as anyone who has gone through a divorce proceeding or had to have a child custody issue decided by a court can attest, domestic relations disputes are not always resolved quickly. What laws would apply if a person were to file for divorce or initiate a child custody proceeding in 2015 but that proceeding was not ready for a final decision by the court until 2016?
What Is a Default Judgment and How Can I Get It Vacated?
When you fail to timely enter an appearance or respond to a divorce petition filed against you, a default judgment may be entered against you. By entering a default judgment, the court has determined that although you were provided with an opportunity to respond to the divorce petition and participate in the proceedings, you failed to do so. As a result, the court has concluded that it has no choice but to award the petitioner – your spouse who filed the divorce petition – the relief he or she requested in the petition.
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Appealing a Family Court Decision
No lawyer or litigant likes to lose in court. This is especially true in divorce cases where a “losing” party can have his or her financial interests and/or parental rights adversely impacted. When this happens, the “losing” party – the one whose interests were adversely affected by the trial court’s decision – may be left wondering how such a terrible (relatively speaking) decision can be undone. Most individuals have heard the term “appeal” and know that an “appeal” can reverse a decision entered by an Illinois trial court. Can you appeal a trial court’s decision in a divorce or child custody case? More importantly, should you appeal a decision?
Finding the Funds for Divorce
When one Geneva, Illinois woman wanted to divorce her spouse but found herself short on the funds necessary to hire an attorney, she turned to a rather unusual source to obtain the money she needed to hire an attorney: crowdfunding. Crowdfunding sites allow users to create a public webpage in which they detail how much money they would like to raise and for what purpose. People who view the page on through the crowdfunding website are then able to donate any amount they see fit toward the particular person and/or cause. In the case of this woman, a short time after she created her crowdfunding page, she had raised nearly one-third of the money she needed to retain an attorney.
Important Time Periods for Divorces in Illinois
A well-known saying claims that “timing is everything.” This is certainly true in the context of an Illinois divorce. Built into the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act are specific time frames that must be complied with in order to obtain certain relief from the court hearing your divorce case. Failure to adhere to these time periods can result in a delay in obtaining your divorce or a dismissal of your case entirely.
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Service by Publication in a Divorce
Some divorcing spouses cannot wait to separate and move on with their lives, but most understand that it is necessary to let the other spouse know where they are initially living so that the divorce can be finalized. But what happens when your spouse disappears without leaving a forwarding address, telephone number, or other means of contacting him or her? Must your plans for divorce be put on the back burner if your spouse is missing in action?