Divorce in Illinois

1. Waiting period

   Not yet verified

   Start with this official source.

2. Residency requirement

   90 days

   One spouse must have lived in Illinois, or been stationed there with the armed services, for 90 days before the case was started or before the court's finding.^[1]

   750 ILCS 5/401(a) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “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 next preceding the commencement of the action or the making of the finding”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, no-fault only

   Illinois grants a divorce when irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage; living apart for 6 months before judgment creates an irrebuttable presumption that this is met.^[1]

   750 ILCS 5/401(a), (a-5) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “Irreconcilable differences have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and the court determines that efforts at reconciliation have failed or that future attempts at reconciliation would be impracticable and not in the best interests of the family.”

   “If the parties live separate and apart for a continuous period of not less than 6 months immediately preceding the entry of the judgment dissolving the marriage, there is an irrebuttable presumption that the requirement of irreconcilable differences has been met.”

4. Property division

   Equitable distribution

   Each spouse keeps their non-marital property, and the court divides marital property in just proportions, without regard to marital misconduct, after considering all relevant factors.^[2]

   Community property in Illinois: the statute quoted →

   750 ILCS 5/503(d) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “It also shall divide the marital property without regard to marital misconduct in just proportions considering all relevant factors”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Required (unless an impediment exists)

   Every Illinois judicial circuit must run a mediation program for parenting cases, and in divorce and paternity cases local rules must send custody (parental responsibilities), relocation and parenting-time issues to mediation unless the court finds an impediment.^[3]

   Ill. S. Ct. R. 905(b) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “referral of child custody, allocation of parental responsibilities, relocation, visitation, and parenting time issues to mediation, pursuant to Rule 923(a)(3), unless the court determines an impediment to mediation exists.”

   “Each judicial circuit shall establish a program to provide mediation for dissolution of marriage and paternity cases involving the custody, allocation of parental responsibilities of a child, relocation of a child, visitation or parenting time issues”

6. Court mediation fees

   Not yet verified

   Start with this official source.

7. Alimony

   Set by formula

   If the court finds maintenance appropriate and the couple earns under $500,000 combined, Illinois law sets the amount by formula (33⅓% of the payer’s net income minus 25% of the recipient’s, capped at 40% of combined net income) and the length by a multiplier on the years married.

   Open the Illinois alimony calculator →

8. Divorce rate

   1.3 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   Illinois’s courts granted 1.3 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.2 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 6.1 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in Illinois divorced in the past year (±0.7; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[5][6]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in Illinois: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in Illinois →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in Illinois (1,189) ÷ population (12,710,158, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[4]