In March 2023, a Reddit forum dedicated to historical photographs discussed an interesting 1948 image captured outside of the Cook County Courthouse. The photo, which appeared on the Chicago Tribune, showed a man on his knees begging his wife for forgiveness after she filed for divorce. At the time, spouses had to show cause and establish fault in a dissolution of marriage proceeding; in the case related to the historic photo, the cause and fault was that the husband was drunk all the time.
Things have changed considerably since that dramatic photograph was taken. In 2016, the concept of Illinois being a “fault divorce” state began to change when the General Assembly voted in favor of petitioning a legal separation without having to show cause or prove fault. This “no fault” amendment was also applied to the dissolution of marriage petitions. When Arlington Heights divorce lawyers help clients file for dissolution of marriage at the Domestic Relations Division, the initial consideration is whether the case will be contested or not.
If the spouses agree on all the terms of the separation, the divorce is handled as an uncontested petition. If there is any disagreement concerning the division of marital property, child custody, alimony, or child support, the petition will be handled as a contested divorce; nonetheless, resolution methods such as mediation can still be applied.
To learn more about how divorce proceedings are handled in Illinois visit the Arlington Heights divorce lawyers at Law Office of Fedor Kozlov, P.C. also handle other matters such as estate planning and probate.
