On top of turning your life upside down, a divorce can set you back tens of thousand dollars. Exactly how much does divorce cost in Illinois? It depends on the specific facts of your case and how much you and your spouse can agree on the significant matters.
In this article, we discuss the fees associated with a divorce in Illinois. We also explain the factors that can make your divorce cost more or less. All of this will give you a sense of the possible grand total of your divorce.
The average cost of divorce in Illinois
The current average Illinois divorce cost is between $11,000 and $14,000 in attorney fees plus about $1,600 in additional fees, which we discuss below. Generally, the more complicated your divorce is and the more you and your spouse disagree, the more expensive it will be.
Breakdown of the costs of divorce in Illinois
Each step of the divorce process can entail different costs. Below is an overview of these expenses.
Filing fees
You must pay fees to file for divorce in Illinois. These fees vary depending on which county you file your divorce in. For example, the current filing fee for a divorce with children in Lake County is $334, while in Cook County it’s $380. You may also have to pay an appearance fee, which also varies. (Currently, Lake County charges $209 while Cook County charges $250.)
Service fees
When you start a divorce case, you need to have your spouse served with divorce papers. Service can be completed by a sheriff or process server.
To hire a sheriff or a professional process server to serve your spouse, expect to pay around $100. The cost of serving your spouse is partially determined by how far the process server or sheriff has to travel and how many tries it takes to complete service. More miles and more time means a higher fee.
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Attorney fees
You can finalize a divorce without attorney assistance. But many individuals find the divorce process to be less stressful when they seek legal advice.
Most experienced divorce lawyers in Illinois currently charge between $300 to $450 an hour. Others charge a flat fee, which can be in the thousands.
Many attorneys are flexible with their fees, and if you’re financially strapped, a divorce court might order your spouse to pay any reasonable attorney fees that you owe.
Temporary orders of support
Many divorces take a long time to complete, so Illinois law allows divorcing couples to ask for temporary relief while their case is pending. This temporary relief can include the following:
- Orders for a spouse to pay child support
- Orders for a spouse to pay spousal support
- Restraining orders to keep one spouse away from the other
Spousal support and child support can each cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per month. The cost depends on your income, your spouse’s income, each of your needs and the number of overnights the parties have the child. Use the Illinois child support estimator to learn the approximate amount of child support you may owe.
If you’re subject to a temporary restraining order or one of you moves out of the house while the divorce is pending, you might have to pay additional thousands per month for new housing.
Discovery
Compiling proof of all your parenting, financial and medical needs is a major part of the divorce process. The legal community calls this discovery, and it can be expensive.
To collect some of this information, you might have to pay document request fees. For instance, you might owe a base fee of more than $30 and up to more than $2 a page to get copies of your financial records for each account you have. This could amount to hundreds of dollars if you need a large number of records to argue your position.
Or if you need the help of a child psychologist, accountant or other expert witness to provide a deposition or review information, you may pay them hundreds per hour.
Mediation
You and your spouse can choose to engage in mediation to resolve some or all of your issues without going to court. During this process, a neutral third party helps the two of you work through your issues in the hopes of coming to an agreement about how to resolve those matters.
If you choose this option, you might have to pay a professional mediator between $150 and $500 an hour. You might also choose to hire an attorney to review any agreement you consider during the process.
Trial
Going to trial is a costly aspect of many divorces. A trial can take a lot of time, which can mean an increase in legal costs and the amount of temporary support you might have to pay. A trial can also include expenses associated with the following:
- Attorney fees (including fees for time spent researching, preparing for trial, negotiating settlements, reviewing documents and attending the trial)
- Fees for witness preparation and trial attendance
- Lost wages from taking time off work
Factors that impact the cost of an Illinois divorce
Certain circumstances can increase or decrease the price of a divorce. The biggest factors are:
- The type of divorce
- Any minor children
- Spousal support
- Property division
Contested divorce vs. uncontested divorce
How much you and your spouse disagree can have a significant impact on the cost of your divorce in Illinois.
- In a contested divorce, the spouses can’t reach an agreement on one or more terms of their divorce. Because of this, they typically need to go to trial and have a judge decide the terms.
- In an uncontested divorce, the spouses reach an agreement on all terms of the divorce and write and sign a divorce settlement agreement.
A contested divorce typically costs more, because preparing for and going to court takes more time and often requires the help of more experts than an uncontested divorce does.
Minor children
Divorcing couples who have minor children together are likely to spend more money on a divorce than couples without children.
Courts often need a significant amount of time to decide the parenting time and decision making each parent should have and how much child support a parent should pay. To ensure that the court makes the best decisions for your child and respects your rights as a parent, you may need to hire professionals such as mental health providers or custody evaluators to testify on your behalf.
If the court requires you to pay child support, this may also be an ongoing expense. You’ll likely have to pay support until your child turns 18.
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Spousal support
Some individuals must pay spousal support (also called spousal maintenance) to their exes. This is dependent on each spouse’s financial needs, income, resources and ability to earn wages. An obligation to pay maintenance depends on the length of your marriage, and you may have to pay spousal support for a significant number of years.
If you or your spouse requests spousal maintenance, this may increase the time and cost of your divorce, since it’s one more issue the court will have to evaluate and rule on.
Property division
Every divorce involves a decision about how to divide marital property before the spouses part ways. Property division can involve several expenses, such as attorney, discovery and expert witness fees to determine what’s marital property (and subject to division) and what’s separate property (and not subject to division).
Then, when the court divides your property, you’re likely to lose a significant number of assets (such as homes, bank accounts and investments) to your ex-spouse.
When to speak with a lawyer
Divorces can be complex, with lots of issues to resolve and legalese to figure out. Having an experienced divorce attorney in your corner can be helpful. They can explain the divorce process in Illinois and help you navigate it, safeguard your rights so you don’t inadvertently give up too much, represent your best interests during mediation or a trial and more. While you don’t necessarily need a lawyer, you may find that their experience is worth it.
