You an get a fast and affordable uncontested divorce in Lake County, Illinois – and you can get a lawyer to start and finish the process. But still, you might have a few questions before you get started. That’s why I wrote this FAQ on uncontested divorce in Lake County, Illinois.
What is an uncontested divorce?
The below issues will apply to you based upon your circumstances:
- Dividing assets
- Dividing debt
- Dividing retirement accounts
- Selling real estate
- Spousal maintenance (aka “alimony”)
- Parental decision-making (aka “custody”)
- Parenting time (aka “visitation”)
How does mediation fit into the picture?
As a matter of fact, I wrote another article about divorce mediation.
I’m also a divorce mediator, so I understand this issue well.
What if my spouse won’t agree?
If you and your spouse cannot come to an agreement, then you will not be able to get an uncontested divorce in Lake County, Illinois.
How can we get divorced if there is no agreement?
There are essentially 2 ways you can get divorced if your spouse will not agree to an uncontested divorce in Illinois.
- Default: If your spouse never participates in the case, the case can move ahead anyway.
- Litigation: If your spouse participates in the case, then the case will be litigated. The good news is that most cases settle.
How fast can I start an uncontested divorce?
Your uncontested divorce can be started in little more time than it take to real this article.
Okay, so maybe that’s a bit of an exxageration. But it’s fast.
All you have to do to get started is text or call us at 224-300-0529, or contact us online.
After a few questions, we can quote you a flat fee.
Where is the divorce court?
The divorce court is part of the Circuit Court of Lake County, in Waukegan, Illinois.
It’s at 18 N County St, Waukegan, IL 60085
Here’s a map for you:
Do I have to come to court?
The person who files the case – the petitioner – must come to court for an uncontested divorce. That’s (in 99% of cases) one trip to the courthouse in Waukegan.
Does my spouse have to come to court?
In an uncontested divorce in Illinois, in 99% of cases I’ve handled, only the petition has to come to court. The reason your spouse does not have to come to court is because he/she will have the settlement agreement notarized – that way the judge is sure that your spouse has actually agreed to all the terms.
So in some, your spouse is not required to come, but may come if he or she wants to come.
What does an uncontested divorce cost?
We charge a flat fee to represent clients in an unconsted divorce in Lake County.
The flat fee will likely be below $2,000, and the court fees will be included. The flat fee depends on the complexity of your case. Some of the most simple cases have a flat fee of $1,500. But people who own real estate, have kids, and are dividing retirement accounts might pay more.
The fact remains that an uncontested divorce in Illinois is the most affordable (and fastest) way to get divorced.
An uncontested divorce is one where both parties agree to absolutely all issues involved in the divorce.
Do I need a lawyer?
On one hand, asking a lawyer is kind of like going into a car dealership and asking the car salesman if you need a car.
I realize that.
But seriously, using a lawyer is normally very beneficial to people – even in an uncontested divorce in Illinois.
Here are just some of the benefits of using a flat fee divorce lawyer:
- More specificity: Lawyers are accustomed to writing clauses that have a sufficient amount of specificity. One of the worse things for an agreement to have is ambiguity. Using specific language can help avoid problems in the future. Don’t get me wrong – no agreement is perfect. But when you use a flat fee divorce lawyer, the agreement will likely be a lot better than it would be otherwise.
- Enforceability: A clause is no good if it cannot be enforced. Some people come up with very creative solutions when they are trying to reach an agreement. Creativity is great! But when creativity leads people to come up with an agreement that is not enforceable in court, the problems it creates include but are not limited to a) not being to finalize the divorce because the judges realizes your agreement has an unenforceable provision, and b) getting the divorce finalize, then realizing sometime later that your agreement – or some clause therein – is unenforceable.
- Advice: I don’t know about all flat fee uncontested divorce lawyers, but when you engage our office we can actually provide you advice. Sometimes that advice will be via email, or maybe a quick phone call. In a divorce for a flat fee we obviously cannot offer unlimited advice – but we sure can do more than one of those shady divorce websites.
- Time savings: Getting divorced can be stressful, and time consuming. In fact, generally speaking, the more time consuming a divorce is, the more stressful it can become. A lawyer can help save time in the following ways:
- Drafting documents – saving you hours doing so
- Determining necessary documents – In every Lake County divorce, there are a number of documents needed. Some are more like “forms.” Others are
- Filing documents – the court’s e-filing system can be very confusing
- Scheduling court dates – once everything is filed, you need to schedule a court date, and that can be tricky.
- Reducing time in court: In court, cases that have attorneys almost always get called first. In Lake County, I can often finalize an uncontested divorce by 10:30a. Those people without attorneys could be there much longer.
- Reducing trips to court: With a flat fee attorney for your uncontested divorce, you will likely have to go to court only once. However, if you don’t have an attorney, you will likely have to go to court more than once. For example, a) getting court forms and asking questions to the clerk (many of which they aren’t allowed to answer), b) going to court with completed documents to get help e-filing, c) going to court to figure out how to schedule a court date, d) going to court to finalize the divorce, and perhaps, having to come back again because the judge didn’t like some of the terms of your agreement (or some other reason).
How long does it take to get an uncontested divorce in Lake County?
Times can vary, but for the most part, people can get divorce in about one month. Please keep in mind, the duration of your divorce from start to finish can depend upon the following factors:
- How fast you give your attorney necessary information
- How fast you are in getting your spouse to agree
- How fast you review what is sent by the attorney
- How fast your spouse signs everything necessary to finish the case
- The attorney’s schedule
- The court’s schedule