About 95% of all cases that go to court, including divorce cases, settle and do not go to trial. The cost of a divorce depends on how high up the ladder to a trial you go before the case is settled. It also depends on whether you handle your case collaborative or not. Collaborative divorce, when it works, is less expensive because the process is focused on settlement.
Attorney fees will be reduced by you and your spouse directly, and without benefit of lawyers, by settling issues involved in the divorce.
Gitlin on Divorce: A Guide to Illinois Family Law
For Illinois specific law, see Gitlin on Divorce: A Guide to Illinois Family Law, which while written for lawyers and judges, may be of help to non-lawyers. It is available at the Gitlin Law Firm, in and in Law Libraries including the law libraries in McHenry County, Lake County, and Kane County.
Gitlin Law Firm
Divorce Settlement Checklist
- Parental Responsibility and Parenting Time
- Parenting Time Allocation
- Review Website with Model Parenting Plans
- Relocation (moving) to another state or an area outside of the allowed limits within Illinois: Generally 25/50 miles:
- Decision making:
- Education, including the choice of schools and tutors;
- Health including decisions relating to medical, dental and psychological needs of the child including treatments;
- Religion;
- Extracurricular activities.
- Child support:
- Standardized or Individualized Tax;
- Amount
- Base obligation;
- Shared-physical care:
- Determine the number of overnights in Parenting Plan;
- Determine the health insurance cost for the children covered.
- Commencement date
- Dates payable
- Termination of support
- Method of Payment: SDU versus direct payment
- Dependent exemptions:
- Value suspended through to 2025;
- Form 8332 and the Under Age 17 Child Tax Credit
- Income Withholding
- Add-ons:
- Health care needs not covered by insurance;
- Child care:
- Payable directly to a party;
- Paid directly to the child care provider at the time of child care services.
- Costs for education;
- Extracurricular activities (“intended to enhance the educational, athletic, social, or cultural development of the child”.)
- Income tax
- Filing joint return for year before judgment (if married for all of tax year)
- Tax refund
- Marital home and other real estate:
- How title to be held:
- Joint tenancy;
- Tenancy in common.
- Sale of home
- Refinancing:
- Holding deed pending refinancing;
- Length of time.
- Sale provisions
- How title to be held:
- Health Care
- Insurance (coverage and proof of premium payment)
- Orthodontic, dental, psychological and optical
- Co-payments, deductible and non-covered items
- Length of obligation:
- Child support terminating;
- Longer of child support and educational support;
- Continuation coverage for spouse:
- COBRA coverage if applicable;
- Illinois mini-COBRA type laws;
- Is spouse age 55 or older?
- Life Insurance (coverage and ownership)
- Proof of payment
- Length of obligation
- Cash value
- Protection for:
- Child support;
- Maintenance (especially if indefinite);
- Structured property settlements.
- Maintenance (Alimony)
- Award: “Only if” the court finds a maintenance award is appropriate.
- Type:
- Reviewable;
- Fixed-term;
- Indefinite;
- Reserved.
- Commencement date
- Dates payable
- Termination events or review by court
- Life insurance to protect in long term marriage cases
- Household furnishings
- Deposits of money (bank, savings & loan, credit union)
- Stocks, stock options, RSUs, etc.
- Business interests/Professional practice
- Litigation in which parties have interest
- Retirement, pension, profit sharing, etc.
- Debts/Credit cards
- Automobiles and other motor vehicles
- College Education of Children
- Qualification for:
- Age Limits: Age 23?
- For good cause shown age 25?
- Continuous Education
- Number of years (four total years?)
- Transportation to and from school
- Obligation if child lives with parent while attending college
- School to be used as standard/benchmark for costs such as the University of Illinois in Champaign
- Ratio of payment by parents
- Qualification for:
- Attorney fees and costs
