Illinois Family Law FAQ: Straight Answers on Divorce, Parenting, and Child Support

Most people who call our office have the same six or seven questions, and most of them have already spent an evening reading answers written for some other state. So here are the Illinois answers, in plain language, from an attorney who handles these cases in Cook, DuPage, Will, and Kane Counties every week.

This is a starting point, not a substitute for a conversation about your facts. If something below sounds like your situation, that is the moment to call.

Is Illinois a no-fault divorce state?

Yes. Illinois is a pure no-fault state. The only ground for divorce is irreconcilable differences, which means the marriage has broken down, past efforts to fix it have failed, and future efforts would not be in the family's best interests. Nobody has to prove cheating, abandonment, or anything else, and the court does not care whose fault it was.

If you and your spouse both agree the marriage is over, there is no waiting period. If one of you disputes it, living separate and apart for six months creates a presumption of irreconcilable differences that cannot be rebutted. "Separate and apart" can mean separate bedrooms in the same house, depending on the facts.

How long do you have to live in Illinois to file for divorce?

One spouse must have lived in Illinois for 90 days, either when the case is filed or when the judgment is entered. That is it. You do not need to have been married here.

How long does a divorce take in Illinois?

An uncontested divorce where everything is agreed can be finished in a matter of weeks, depending on the county's calendar. A contested divorce with disputes over parenting, property, or support typically runs several months to more than a year. The single biggest variable is not the court. It is how many issues the two of you can resolve without a judge.

Is Illinois a 50/50 state for dividing property?

No. Illinois is an equitable distribution state, which means the court divides marital property in "just proportions," not necessarily equal ones. In practice many cases land near 50/50, but the court can and does deviate based on things like the length of the marriage, each spouse's contributions (including as a homemaker), each spouse's economic circumstances, and whether one spouse wasted marital money on something unrelated to the marriage, which Illinois calls dissipation.

Two distinctions matter more than most people realize. First, only marital property gets divided. Property you owned before the marriage, and gifts or inheritances you received individually, are generally non-marital and stay with you, unless you commingled them with marital funds. Second, title does not control. A house or retirement account in one spouse's name alone is still marital if it was acquired during the marriage.

How is alimony calculated in Illinois?

Illinois calls it maintenance, and for most couples there is a formula. When the spouses' combined gross income is under $500,000 and the court decides maintenance is appropriate, the guideline amount is 33 1/3% of the paying spouse's net income minus 25% of the receiving spouse's net income, capped so that the recipient does not end up with more than 40% of the couple's combined net income. Duration is a percentage of the length of the marriage that increases the longer you were married; at 20 years or more, the court can award maintenance for the length of the marriage or indefinitely.

Before the formula matters, though, the court has to decide whether maintenance is appropriate at all. That turns on factors like each spouse's income and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, and whether one spouse gave up career opportunities for the family. A prenuptial or postnuptial agreement can also waive or limit maintenance.

What are Illinois custody laws now?

Illinois no longer uses the word "custody." Since 2016, what used to be custody is split into two separate things under the allocation of parental responsibilities statute:

Decision-making responsibilities are the authority to make significant decisions about the child's education, health, religion, and extracurricular activities. These can be allocated jointly or to one parent, and they can be split by category.

Parenting time is the schedule of when the child is with each parent. The parent with the child is responsible for routine day-to-day decisions during that time.

Both are decided under the child's best interests, using a long list of statutory factors that includes the child's wishes (weighted by age and maturity), each parent's past participation in caregiving, the child's adjustment to home and school, and each parent's willingness to encourage a relationship with the other parent. There is no legal presumption in favor of mothers, fathers, or an equal schedule. That said, courts in this area generally start from the premise that children benefit from substantial time with both fit parents.

Do I need a parenting plan?

Yes. Every case involving children requires a parenting plan, and each parent has 120 days from filing to submit one, either jointly or separately. The plan spells out the schedule, holidays, decision-making, transportation, communication, and a long list of other items the statute requires. A well-drafted parenting plan prevents most post-decree fights. A vague one causes them.

How much is child support in Illinois?

Illinois uses an income shares model. The court combines both parents' net incomes, looks up the amount the state's schedule says parents at that combined income spend on that number of children, and splits that amount between the parents in proportion to their incomes. The parent with less parenting time generally pays their share to the other.

If each parent has the child for at least 146 overnights a year, a shared parenting adjustment applies that accounts for both households carrying costs. Child support is separate from, and in addition to, contributions toward health insurance, uncovered medical expenses, child care, and sometimes extracurricular activities and school costs.

Child support in Illinois does not automatically end at 18. It continues until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever is later, up to age 19, and the court can order both parents to contribute to college expenses.

Can child support or parenting time be modified after the divorce?

Yes, but the standards are different.

Child support can be modified when there has been a substantial change in circumstances, such as a job loss, a significant raise, or a change in the parenting schedule. One thing people learn the hard way: a modification is only retroactive to the date the other side is served with notice of your petition, not to the date your circumstances changed. If you lose your job, file promptly. Waiting six months means six months of support you still owe at the old number.

Parenting time can be modified on a substantial change in circumstances if the change serves the child's best interests. Decision-making responsibilities are harder to change: for two years after the order is entered, a parent generally cannot ask to modify them unless there is reason to believe the current arrangement seriously endangers the child.

Can I move with my child?

Not without either the other parent's agreement or the court's permission, if the move is far enough. In Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties, a move of more than 25 miles from the current home triggers the relocation statute. In the rest of Illinois it is 50 miles. Any move out of state more than 25 miles away counts. If you have the majority of parenting time (or equal time) and want to relocate, you must give written notice, and if the other parent objects, the court decides based on the child's best interests. Moving first and asking later is one of the fastest ways to lose parenting time.

What happens if my ex does not follow the court order?

You go back to court. If the other parent is not paying support or is withholding parenting time, you can file a petition for enforcement or a petition for rule to show cause asking the court to hold them in contempt. For unpaid child support, Illinois has strong tools, including income withholding, interception of tax refunds, license suspension, and interest on the arrearage. For parenting time violations, the court can order make-up time, require the violating parent to pay your attorney's fees, and in serious cases impose fines or jail. Under Illinois law, a parent who is found to have violated an order without compelling cause is generally ordered to pay the other side's fees.

Keep records. Screenshots of the text where the exchange was cancelled, the bank statements showing what was not paid, and a simple calendar of what actually happened are the evidence that wins these motions.

Do I need a lawyer for a divorce in Illinois?

You are allowed to represent yourself, and for a short marriage with no children, no real estate, and no retirement accounts, some people do. Once there are children, a house, a pension, a business, or a spouse who has already hired counsel, the cost of getting it wrong is usually much higher than the cost of getting it right. Judgments are hard to undo. A poorly written parenting plan or a missed retirement asset can follow you for years.

If you are not sure which category you are in, that is exactly what an initial consultation is for.

Talk to an Illinois family law attorney

Our attorneys handle divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities, child support, maintenance, relocation, and post-decree enforcement and modification in Cook, DuPage, Will, and Kane Counties. Call LaRocque Law at 331-306-0084 or schedule a consultation online, and we will tell you candidly where you stand.

LaRocque Law | (331) 306-0084 | larocque-law.com | Schedule Online

This post is general information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Your facts matter. If something here sounds like your situation, schedule a consultation and we will talk about yours specifically.