Hello there.

Hi. Thank you for your question.

Certainly. First, the wait period in Illinois depends on the type of divorce. In some cases, there is a two year wait period before filing. Do you know for certain that you only need information about when the six month wait period applies?

Thank you. So you are looking at a no-fault divorce that has been agreed upon in writing, correct?

Great.

The question then is when the six month period living separate and apart to be granted a marital dissolution in Illinois must elapse. The answer is that the six month period must conclude prior to the time of the initial filing. It does not overlap with the time of filing, nor is it completed after the time of filing.

Just to be clear, the wait period for a no-fault divorce is ordinarily two years, but it may be reduced to six months if agreed upon in writing. If it is an "at fault" divorce, there is ordinarily no wait period.

Does all of that make sense?

There must be a wait period except in cases of an at-fault divorce. All no-fault divorce cases have a wait period of either six months or two years.

I apologize.. I am attempting to pull up the statute so that you can see for yourself. One moment, please.

Here we go: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=075000050HPt.+IV&ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=3700000&SeqEnd=5200000 To translate that:

The causes include adultery, Bigamy, naturally impotent, Abandonment for one year...

habitual drunkeness for two years, drug use for two years, extreme mental or physical cruelty...

conviction of a felony or other infamous crime, or infecting the other with an STD.

Actually, mental cruelty is not defined under the law; the courts tend to look at the effects of the harmful acts to determine if it qualifies.

For a no-fault divorce, the six month wait period starts at the time of separation, not at the time of filing.

The parties must have lived "separate and apart". Normally, that requires separate residences.

There are plenty of ways to prove things in these situations, just like there are lots of ways to prove things in life. How would you prove that you went to the grocery store today? You might show a receipt of purchase. You may have a credit card record. Perhaps you ran into someone at the store that recognized you and would remember your being there. Maybe you were issued a traffic citation outside the store's parking lot. You would also have groceries from the store in your home. You know what the truth is, you would just need to show someone else how they can know it too.

Unfortunately, it would be professionally irresponsible to specifically tell you what evidence to use in your case. I can give you the law, but I have no way of assessing the adequacy of your friend's testimony from here. It would be like a dermatologist trying to diagnose a melanoma without seeing it.

Thanks. Did you have any other questions?

Ok, let's look at this. Where do you receive your mail?

where do you keep your toothbrush?

if you have a day off from work and the kids are in school, and if you decide that you want to watch television, where do you watch TV?

where do you keep your wardrobe?

ok, this is a different way to ask a prior question: if you ordered a personal item off ebay, where would you have it mailed?

The court looks at all the facts to determine if a couple has lived separately. In your case, you sleep at your parents, you keep your wardrobe (clothes you actually wear) at your parents', you keep your toothbrush at your parents', you would have personal effects mailed to your parents', and you have basically said that the reason for being at the other house is just to spend time with the kids. Again, I can't "diagnose", but as I read that back to you, what do you think?

My pleasure. Does that answer all of your questions?

Great, and please remember to leave positive feedback once you are finished. Thanks!