Here is an FAQ on the divorce process in IL: Part 2

11. Will I get child support
Regarding Child Support:
Are the percentage guidelines written in stone?
No – they are GUIDELINES. Courts vary from the guidelines (increases and decreases) often, depending on the circumstances. Talk with one of our experienced attorneys to see if a variance might be warranted in your case.
Do I have to pay support even if the kids are with me part of the year?
Maybe – it depends on the language of your court order. Your must obey the court order. If you don’t like the order, obey it and go back to court to change it. Until it is changed, you must obey.
My ex doesn’t let me see the kids. Do I still have to pay support?
Of course. You can enforce your visitation rights – just call our attorneys. You must obey the court’s child support order regardless of whether you see the kids.
What about daycare expenses?
Daycare expenses are sometimes expected to be paid by the custodial parent out of the child support money received. Other times, the court will tack on daycare expenses above-and-beyond the regular child support. It depends on the circumstances of your case. Call our attorneys to learn more.
What about health insurance?
Illinois law requires obligors (parents who pay child support) to also obtain health insurance for he kids if they can do so through their employer. If the employer doesn’t offer insurance, obligors maybe required to buy health insurance for the kids or reimburse the custodial parent for the cost of health insurance.
What about extracurricular activities and private school?
It depends. Music lessons, tutors, athletics, etc. are all discretionary with the court. The judge will look at what the kids have done in the past, any agreements between the parents, and the financial resources.
When does child support end?
On the child’s 18th birthday. If your child will still be in high school on his or her 18th birthday, then child support is extended until graduation. Your court order may also include a different termination date – like the 21st birthday. Check your court order to make sure. Under some circumstances, children may become emancipated prior to their 18th birthday... in which case child support ends upon emancipation. Call our attorneys if you have questions.
Who pays for college?
The parents and the child. There is no formula. Courts do what’s fair. Kids should expect to pay for part of their education – whether its with student loans, savings, or a part-time job, students should expect to pay. Mom and Dad should expect to pay, too; each according to their ability.
12. Can my spouse’s new wife adopt my child without my consent?
You have to file a Petition for Adoption and for Termination of Parental Rights. While you may have custody, the other parent's rights must be terminated in order for your spouse to adopt the children.
13. Who pays the court costs?
You pay your own fees if you can afford them. If you can’t afford them, and your spouse can afford to pay for both lawyers, then your spouse pays. In nearly all cases, the spouses share the attorneys’ fees in some ratio – not necessarily 50/50 or 100/0 – usually it’s somewhere in between.
14. What happens if I can’t find my spouse?
In Illinois, you may still obtain a “Dissolution of Marriage” and if kids are involved, then the filing spouse can get custody of the kids, however child support and/or spousal maintenance cannot be obtained when the spouse is missing.

Divorce in Illinois is initiated by filing a “Petition for Dissolution of Marriage” with the court. Once the document is filed, the other party (spouse) is served with the Petition in one of two ways: by the Sheriff or through a private process server. In the alternative, the spouse can file papers on their own or through an attorney to voluntarily submit him/her-self to the jurisdiction of the Court.

In this case, in personal service cannot be obtained as the spouse is missing, notice of the Dissolution of Marriage must be published in a newspaper. Depending on where the case in filed, i.e Cook, DuPage, Lake or Will County, will determine which newspaper the notice must be published.


You can get divorced, and if you have kids, you can get custody. But if you can’t find him/her, you can’t get any money from your spouse for , like for child support or maintenance.

When you know where someone is, you start a lawsuit by serving a summons and a copy of your complaint on them. The summons tells them when and where they have to go to court. The complaint tells them what the case is about. Actually tagging someone with a summons is called “personal service.”

Personal service assures that the other party actually knows what’s going on, and can defend themselves. Notice and an opportunity to be heard are the fundamentals of due process. Some courts just call it “fair play.”

If you can’t serve somebody because you don’t know where they are or because they’re hiding, your alternative is to publish notice of the lawsuit in a newspaper. “Service by publication” is grounded on the hope that word spread to the general public will somehow reach the missing party and get them to come forward.
To publish notice, you file an affidavit saying the other person can’t be found. The rules say you have to make “due” and “diligent inquiry” before you give up on personal service and resort to publication.

That basically means you really have to try to find the other person. One case says your efforts to find someone must be “honest and well directed”; another says they must not be “casual, routine, or spiritless.” Other cases suggest that you have to track down whatever leads you have, no matter how stale.

Filing the affidavit lets you publish notice of your lawsuit in “some newspaper” in the county where you filed your case. That notice must appear once a week for 3 straight weeks and must contain basic information about the case.

Personal service gets you jurisdiction over a person, which is required for a court to order them to do things. Service by publication, on the other hand, just gets you jurisdiction over the property or “status” at stake in a case. In a divorce case, publication provides jurisdiction over your marital status.

So, with just service by publication, a judge can dissolve your marriage, and get you divorced. You can also get custody of kids and Illinois marital property. But to get child support or maintenance (formerly known as alimony), you’ll have to track down your spouse and serve him with a summons, which makes sense—how can you get money out of someone you can’t find?

15. Does my child get to say who they will live with
There appears to be a general belief that a child of 12 or 14 can select which parent he or she wants to live with. That is not true. In Illinois a minor (a person under the age of 18) can never absolutely choose where they want to live. A judge can interview a child of any age to determine the child’s wishes as to custody and visitation, but the child’s wishes are only one factor to be considered by the court in deciding custody and visitation issues. When a child reaches the age of 18 years he or she is considered an adult and he or she can live with whichever parent he or she chooses.

16. Can I stop a divorce, if I don’t want it.
In Illinois, a married person still has to prove grounds to get a divorce. The most common ground – irreconcilable differences – is not so easy to prove when you think about it. What differences could exist between a husband and wife that are truly irreconcilable? Also, to prove irreconcilable differences, the Petitioner must prove that reconciliation efforts have failed and future reconciliation attempts wouldn’t work. Can your spouse really prove those things?


18. Pet Custody
More divorces now include couples fighting for pet custody. Typically, child custody and child visitation laws apply to children. Pets are regarded by most divorce courts as marital property and treated more like furniture than children.
No matter how the divorce courts look at pets, you and your family may consider your pet as another member of your family. Who gets pet custody can be just as important as other decisions made during the divorce process. Since pet custody isn't necessarily decided by divorce courts, a local divorce lawyer can help you and your spouse negotiate pet custody.
If one spouse owned the pet prior to the marriage or has been the primary caretaker, he or she may be more likely to be awarded ownership of the pet. When a pet belongs to a child, the parent with primary physical child custody may be allowed to keep the pet if it's in the best interest of the child.
While most courts don't award pet custody and visitation, couples may negotiate about what's best for the animal and family. Many couples regard pets as members of the family and want to protect the well-being of the animals after divorce. Some pet owners may include pet ownership in the terms of a prenuptial agreement in order to avoid pet custody disputes in the event of divorce.

Civil Pet Custody Disputes
In a pet custody dispute between two people who are not divorcing, one party may bring a civil action against the other for the return or possession rights of the animal. Civil pet custody disputes generally arise between former roommates. In pet custody disputes, civil courts may use criteria similar to child custody considerations to determine who should have ownership of an animal.