If you are in need of professional legal representation during the Will County divorce process, consider reaching out to a dedicated family attorney for assistance. A skilled lawyer could help to guide you through all of the necessary procedures so that you will know what to expect throughout the negotiation proceedings. Read on to learn more about the Will County divorce process, as well as the ways a compassionate attorney could help make a difference for you.

Defining a Dissolution of Marriage

Defined under the state of Illinois, a dissolution of marriage can be thought of as the divorcing of a married couple. As long as the marriage was considered valid in one of the United States, parties can get divorced in Illinois if either individual lived in the state for 90 days prior to filing or 90 days before a judgment would be entered. While each county has its own local court rules that might guide certain issues or require that some procedures take place in a certain order, your dissolution of marriage is defined by the state that you reside in. Retain the help of a skilled divorce attorney to learn more.

What to Expect in the Will County Divorce Process

You can file for a divorce in the county that either you or the other party resides in. If filing in Will County, you would file the petition for dissolution of marriage with the clerk of court. As of January 1st, 2018, the whole state of Illinois was supposed to be an e-file state only. However, because Cook County has requested to delay that change for another year, you must still go to court in person to file.

However, it is very likely that e-filing will soon be available for self-represented parties. If your family has children, you can expect to have a parenting plan and allocation of major decision-making decided. If you have assets or liabilities that need to be divided, you could expect that the judge will attempt to divide those assets or liabilities equitably between you and your spouse.

Typical Length

The Will County divorce process will take a minimum of 30 days, but it can last well past a year depending upon the issues in a case. The judge or attorneys may have other trials or cases going on as well. The divorcing parties have to recognize that the case involves the parties with their own attorneys and the judge. That includes five schedules that they may have to coordinate.

For this reason, they have to make sure that all five can be there and, sometimes, finding a date that works for everybody is not as easy as it sounds. Unfortunately, that can severely delay things. It is ultimately up to the parties to determine how long a case lasts. There is an Illinois Supreme Court rule that says any case involving children should be decided within 18 months, but because there is no consequence to enforce this rule, it is possible for cases to take longer.

If you wish to retain assistance throughout the Will County divorce process, consider retaining a knowledgeable family lawyer from Reidy Law today for your representation.