What to do after you
complete the forms.
After you and your spouse have prepared and signed in front of a Notary Public
all the necessary forms “Joint Petition for Simplified Dissolution of
Marriage”, “Simplified Procedure Joint Affidavit Regarding
Separation of the Parties, Division of Property and Wavier of Bifurcated
Hearing”, “Simplified Procedure Agreement as to Assets and Debts”,
“Appearance”, and “Simplified Procedure Judgment of
Dissolution of Marriage,” bring them back to the courthouse so that a
Circuit Clerk at the civil new case filings window can collect the proper filing
fees and “Filed” stamp the originals for the court record. He/she shall
return two finished copies sets: one shall go to the Plaintiff and the other set
for the Defendant. Along with the judgment so that you and your spouse can
present in open court.
The final step in the dissolution of marriage requires both you and your spouse
to appear together before a judge, who will review the court record, hear your
testimony, and decide whether or not to grant the dissolution.
Until this is done, you and your spouse are not divorced and cannot
remarry.
To schedule the court appearance
date, ask a Circuit Clerk at the civil motion windows to explain and provide the
Notice of Motion (Form 18 E Part 1) and Motion (Form 18 E Part 2) so that the
case can be scheduled on the proper court call. The Circuit Clerk can assist you
with selecting a court appearance date that is convenient for both you and your
spouse to attend. There are no additional fees required to file the Notice and
Motion forms.
In
addition, THE COURT APPEARANCE DATE THAT YOU SHALL SELECT MUST BE AT LEAST
THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH THE PETITION WAS FILED.
If your spouse is not present when you file the Notice and Motion forms with our
office, you must notify him or her of the court appearance date.
Using the Defendant’s copy set, you can send it by regular mail. The PROOF
OF SERVICE portion on the Notice form should be completed indicating what
Illinois post office you will be using and what date the documents will be
mailed so that the judge can see that you sent the documents to your spouse.
Some individuals may decide to use certified mail which requires additional
payments so that the post office can obtain a signature at the time the envelope
is delivered.
The Circuit Clerk will not send a reminder of the court appearance
date to either of you.
You both must show up
on the scheduled court date! The
case will be heard beginning at 9:00
A.M. The courthouse opens at
8:30 am, make sure you allow enough time for yourself to stand in line and go
through security. On the first floor you can make sure your case is listed on
the electronic bulletin boards identifying which court room you should go to.
Once you know the courtroom number you can proceed to check in with the
judge’s clerk before court starts.
Be patient, courteous and refer to the judge as “your honor” or as
“judge.”
To Contact:
Will County Court House
The Office of the Circuit Clerk
14 W. Jefferson Street
Joliet, IL 60432
(815) 727-8592
circuit_clerk@willcountyillinois.com
Contents © 2006 by Will County. All rights reserved.
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