The Quickie Divorce ... Freedom via Uncontested Dissolution

You hate her. She hates you. It might be the only thing you have in common. You really have no idea why you got married, other than that bottle of Jose Cuervo Silver. Either way, you both want out ... NOW!

Sound familiar?

An uncontested no-fault divorce is exactly what it sounds like. Both of you want out, both or neither of you are to blame, and there is no dispute over property or children.

What could put a hitch in your dehitching? Well, if you have children, that's going to make things slightly more complicated, both in terms of the divorce and in terms of the coparenting that will happen after dissolution.

However, assuming you have no children and you've already agreed on splitting all of the assets and debts, an uncontested divorce is a relatively painless process.

First of all, you'll want to decide when and where to file. You must have lived in Illinois for at least 90 days before you can initiate a divorce in their court system. If custody is an issue, at least one of you must have been in the state for six months.

If both of you are in Illinois, but in different counties, check the fees at your local courthouse. You might save a few bucks by venue shopping.

Next comes the fun part: the paperwork. Fortunately, there are a lot of great resources available at the Illinois Legal Aid Society's web site, including county specific instructions for filing each piece of paperwork.

You can also fill out the free paperwork, courtesy of LawHelp, here. However, before you jump in, make sure you have all of the information listed on this handy checklist.

The only waiting periods for a divorce are the 30 days to file an answer and the court's backlog. After one of you files your initial divorce paperwork, the other has 30 days to respond, or to default. The sooner the response is filed, the sooner you can schedule a date. You'll also have to check and see when there is an open date on the court's calendar.

The hearing itself is a short matter. The judge will look over the paperwork, ask a few questions, make sure everyone understands what's happening, and then sign off.

Voila. Freedom.

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