What can I do if my husband won't sign divorce papers?

Full question:

I live in Illinois; I have been married for 25 years and would like a divorce. My husband has not worked for almost all of our married years. He told me he would not sign divorce papers. What do I have to do? Needless to say I can not afford a attorney because I have to pay all the bills.

  • Category: Divorce
  • Date:
  • State: Illinois

Answer:

In Illinois, you can file for divorce (dissolution of marriage) on various grounds. These include:

  1. Impotence
  2. Bigamy
  3. Adultery
  4. Desertion for one year
  5. Addiction to alcohol or drugs
  6. Attempted murder
  7. Conviction of a felony
  8. Infecting the other spouse with a sexually transmitted disease
  9. Living separate and apart for two years due to irreconcilable differences

If you choose to file based on irreconcilable differences, you must demonstrate that reconciliation efforts have failed or are impractical. If you and your spouse have lived apart for at least six months before filing, you can waive the two-year separation requirement by submitting a stipulation to the court.

The court may also order one spouse to support the other during the divorce proceedings and after the divorce is finalized. However, support during the divorce process is limited to what is necessary for the case.

If you cannot afford an attorney, consider looking for legal aid services in your area or resources that can assist you with the divorce process.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.

FAQs

In Illinois, abandonment occurs when one spouse leaves the marital home without the consent of the other and without a valid reason. For legal purposes, a spouse must be gone for at least one year to establish abandonment. This can be used as grounds for divorce. However, if the couple has been living separately for two years due to irreconcilable differences, that can also be a basis for divorce without needing to prove abandonment. *Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.*

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