Divorcing on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences” is the avenue taken by many couples looking to divorce in Illinois. By claiming that “irreconcilable differences” exist, the couple is essentially telling the court that differences have developed between the two of them that make it impossible or, at the very least, impracticable for the marriage to continue. Divorcing on the grounds of irreconcilable differences in Illinois carries with it an accompanying requirement: the parties must show that they have been living “separately and apart” for at least six months before the divorce case can proceed. (If one spouse does not agree that “irreconcilable differences” exist, then the other spouse must show that the couple has been living “separately and apart” for two years.)

If the two spouses agree that irreconcilable differences exist and if they can agree on the date they began living “separately and apart,” then in most cases the court will accept the parties’ stipulation and will not conduct any further investigation into the matter. But if there is a disagreement between the spouses, one spouse will need to provide evidence establishing when the couple began living “separately and apart.”

Living Separate and Apart Does Not Require Separate Residences

Part of any attorney’s job is educating his or her client about the law. When clients first retain an attorney for any legal matter, they often have misconceptions about the court system and legal process. If a lawyer allows his or her client to hold onto these misconceptions and does not correct them, the client may end up feeling frustrated and may lose confidence in his or her attorney. Divorce and family law are no different. Many clients who retain an attorney have had a friend or family member who experienced a divorce and who shared with the client stories about the process. This, in turn, results in clients who have false beliefs and expectations about the divorce process. The following includes some of the most common misconceptions about divorce in Illinois:

• “We’ll split everything 50/50.” Clients mistakenly believe that all of the property they own with their ex-spouse at the time of the divorce is split evenly between them. The truth, however, is more nuanced. Property division requires a court to identify “marital assets” – those possessions and things the spouses acquired during the course of the marriage – and then divide those marital assets in a fair and equitable manner. In general, property acquired before the marriage or after the divorce is filed is not considered marital property but instead belongs to the person who acquired it.

• “The Court is Going to Assume the Mother (or Father) is the Better Parent, So Why Fight for Primary Placement?” While courts may have had the opinion that one parent was most often better than the other parent, courts are no longer permitted to “presume” the child should go with the mother or father just because he or she is the child’s mother or father. Instead, courts will look at the entire situation and determine which primary placement – mother or father – is in the child’s best interests. The parties can also agree as to which parent should receive primary placement of the child.

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As annoying as growing up in a family full of siblings can be, people with good marriages may just owe their brothers and sisters a thank you. A sociology study published by researchers at the Ohio State University has found that there may be a link between having more siblings and having marriage that is less likely to end in divorce.

In order to come to this conclusion, the researchers used data from the General Social Survey, which records information based on interviews with 57,000 U.S. adults. The researchers examined several generations, using study data from 1972 to 2012.

The Study's Findings

With the recent Supreme Court decision upholding vital components of the president’s Affordable Care Act, it is timely to review how health insurance coverage factors into divorces.

The Illinois Spousal Continuation Law is the state statute designed to protect a spouse and dependent children who lose group health insurance coverage due to death or retirement of the employee, or divorce from the employee, through whom they received coverage (i.e. the other spouse). It applies to Illinois group insurance and accident health plans offered to employees regardless of the size and to fully insured Illinois HMOs. It, however, does not apply to those who are self-insured employers or are part of self-insured health and welfare benefit plans (i.e. union plans). The Act is triggered when the individual holding the insurance divorces his/her partner, but the partner and dependent children were covered by the insurance plan prior to the petition for a divorce being filed.

Preserving Coverage

After receiving the order from the court that all property was to be divided in half as part of the divorce, a German man literally cut all of his property in half – from the car, to his phone, to a teddy bear.

Division of Property in Illinois

The misconception in most cases is that divorces will result in the marital property being divided in half, as in the case of the German story. This, however, is not the case in Illinois. Illinois is known as an equitable distribution state. This means in a divorce case, if the parties cannot come to an agreement on the allocation of the marital property, the court will look to divide up the assets based on what is fair under the circumstances of that particular divorce. The following are some but not all of the factors a court may look into: