Edwardsville, IL Divorce Attorney Office

A divorce can be filed in the county where either party resides. There is no specific time period that you must have resided in that county.

However, you or your spouse must have lived in Illinois for at least 90 days before the judgment of dissolution is entered.

There is no mandatory waiting period before a divorce can be granted. How long the divorce will take depends on the complexity of your case, whether it is contested, and the availability of judges.

When you file your Petition for Dissolution, the Circuit Clerk will issue a Summons. If your spouse lives in the county where the petition is filed, you, or the Circuit Clerk, will give the summons to the sheriff to serve your spouse.

If your spouse does not reside in the county where you are filing, you will need to contact the sheriff in the county where your spouse resides about obtaining service.

If attempts at service do not work, you can serve by publication, which requires court approval. The notice must run in a newspaper that is published in the county where the lawsuit was filed, and the newspaper must be at least a weekly paper.

The Circuit Clerk in the county where you file for divorce will be able to tell you which newspaper to contact for service by publication.

You will need to file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and a summons to serve your spouse. The Petition is your formal written request to the court for a divorce.

If you or your spouse resides in Madison County, you will file at the Madison County Courthouse, located at 155 N. Main St. in Edwardsville. The Family Division is located on the first floor.