When you are going through a divorce, you may come across several keywords or phrases of which you may not be familiar. These specific terms are associated with marriage dissolution in the state of Illinois and are beneficial to understand. Consider the following terms for a better understanding of Illinois divorce.
Action: This is the legal term for a lawsuit.
Petition for Dissolution: The Petition for Dissolution refers to the original document that is filed with a county clerk of the court and identifies several factors including where each party lives and where and when the couple was married. This petition also includes the names and ages of any children the divorcing couple has, their places of employment, and the request to dissolve the marriage.
Allegation: An allegation is a statement contained in a pleading which sets forth what the pleader intends to prove.
Service: When your spouse receives this paper work it means that he or she is served with a copy of the Petition for Dissolution. By law, a sheriff can deliver a copy of this form to your spouse's house or where he or she works. You also have the option of giving your spouse the papers yourself.
Response to Service: This is document with your spouse’s answer to the Petition. The document will allow your spouse to state the facts that are alleged in the petition—those which are true—and will also allow him or her to deny the allegations and ask the court to dismiss the matter.
Discovery: This is the process that may be used to determine if there are any property issues or other issues that arise during the case. Issues may include requests for a financial declaration.
Material Settlement Agreement: This is a negotiated agreement which occurs when the parties’ settlement is reduced to a written document or is said on the record in open court
Uncontested Divorce: An uncontested divorce occurs when parties are able to reach an agreement on all issues.
Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO): If your or your former spouse is involved with profit sharing, has a retirement plan, or has a pension plan, then the non-participant spouse will be given an amount or percentage interest in that profit sharing when the spouse that is working receives those benefits. There are specific rules and regulations that deal with this order that are made to ensure that the transfer of money does not result in a tax penalty, or if you want to withdraw money early you will not get into trouble.
If you are going through a divorce and would like more information on these legal terms or other legal vocabularies, please contact an experienced DuPage County family law attorney. Contact Roscich & Martel Law Firm, LLC at (630) 793-6337 to schedule your confidential consultation today.
Source:
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/2011_build/family_law/fa_glossary_2011.authcheckdam.pdf