Five Tips for a Successful Uncontested Divorce

Many people call wanting an Uncontested Divorce.

Here are Five Tips to Make that Happen!

1. If you have children, decide on a Parenting Plan! The Judge will require a separate order called an Allocation Judgment and Parenting Plan in which you will need to spell out how decisions will be made on your kids’ Education, Extra-Curricular Activities, Medical Care and Religion. In most situations, parents agree to share decision making in these important areas of their kids’ lives but not always. If you are an Educator, for example, you may agree to consult the other parent but want the final say on where your kids go to school or what classes they take. Likewise, if one of you is a nurse or doctor, the two of you might agree that the nurse or doctor parent has the final say in non-emergency medical matters. This is not always the case. For many Moms and Dads no matter what the expertise of either parent, both parents want to provide input on these important areas of their kids’ lives.

2. Once you file, sign up for the online parenting course. this is available in uncontested divorces where you have or will have a Parenting Agreement without going to Mediation.

3. Fill out your Financial Affidavits! Even if you have an Uncontested Divorce, you both need to make Full Disclosure of what you own and what you owe. This is easily done with the Financial Affidavit Form available statewide in Illinois. In your Financial Affidavit, you will list your bank accounts, retirement accounts and any real estate or motor vehicles you own and what you owe on them such as mortgages and car loans. You will also need to list your credit card debt or other loans. This is especially important if you have been living separate lives for some time and really don’t know what the other person has been up to. 

4. Provide backup documentation such as tax returns, account statements and credit card statements.

5. Decide in advance how you are going to divide your accounts. Keep in mind that everything you acquire while you are married, is Marital Property with some exceptions such as Inheritances. Finally, you will need to know if one of you is going to be paying child support or spousal support. 

Even Uncontested Divorces are not always that simple. At Gabrielle S. Davis, PC with offices in Oak Park and Oak Brook, we can make sure that your Uncontested Divorce happens with as few complications as possible.