Will County Divorce Lawyers - Andreano and Lyons - Attorneys

Yesterday, July 21, 2015 Governor Rauner signed the new divorce law into effect. It is a huge change in family law - the likes of which  has not been seen in 45 years. Over the next several weeks I will continue to run articles on the new law and its likely effects on pending divorce cases and those to be filed. It is of note that the legislative notes indicate it will be effective January 1, 2016 . However, some provisions could have different effective date. A careful analysis of the law will need to be made and there will be a substantial learning curve for lawyers and judges alike. Brace yourselves. In the meantime, here is the text of Public Act 99-0090

A divorce law has been circulating through the hallowed halls of our state legislature for quite some time with a re-write of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. In its current status, the law is called Senate Bill 57 and it would drastically change the 40+ year old divorce statute. If signed into law, some of the changes would: Eliminate the “grounds” or reasons for a divorce like adultery and mental cruelty and keep a modified version of irreconcilable differences. Section § 401 provides that once the parties have lived separate and apart for six months, there would be no need to get mutual agreement that the marriage should happen, i.e. irretrievably broken down. With an agreement, there would be no waiting period. Without an agreement, that 6 month period applies. Eliminate the idea of and even the word “custody”. Instead, a court granting custody to one parent with the other parent getting "visitation", the new law would have courts alloca...