Residency Requirements for Dissolution of Marriage: Illinois
Illinois has its own dissolution of marriage laws regarding who is eligible to file for a divorce. Each state protects its jurisdiction and makes sure the appropriate laws are applied to the appropriate cases. To prevent your case from being dismissed, make sure you meet the Illinois residency requirements. The most common mistake people make is believing they must divorce in the state in which they were married. This is simply not true. Most divorce cases throughout the United States are filed in the county in which the filing spouse resides.
Illinois Filing Requirements: In order to file for a dissolution of marriage in Illinois, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to hear the case it will not be accepted or it will eventually be dismissed. The requirements are as follows:
The court shall enter a judgment of dissolution of marriage as long as one of the spouses was a resident of this State or was stationed in this State while a member of the armed services, and the residence or military presence had been maintained for 90 days prior to filing. The proceedings shall be had in the county where the plaintiff or defendant resides. (750 Illinois Compiled Statutes - Chapter 5 - Sections: 104 and 401)
If you discover that you DO NOT meet at least one of the above residency requirements, you can consider the following 4 options:
1. Do not proceed with a divorce and attempt to save your marriage.
2. Establish residency in Illinois for the period time set forth above (this does not mean you have to wait to begin the process of getting your documents).
3. Have your spouse do the filing if he or she meets the necessary residency requirements for Illinois.
4. Choose another state in which you or your spouse may meet the residency requirements (all state residency laws are unique, so be sure to check the state in which you were married as a potential option).
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