Using ChatGPT in Your Illinois Divorce: What Not to Share

Many people going through a divorce now use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, or similar AI tools to understand legal terms, organize their thoughts, or draft a message to the other parent. Some of that is useful. Some of it can hurt your case: what you type may not be confidential, chat histories can become evidence, and AI tools still invent legal authority that does not exist. This page explains what not to share with an AI tool during an Illinois divorce or custody case, how courts have treated AI chats so far, and when using AI is reasonable.

Is what I type into ChatGPT private or privileged?

You should assume it is not. The attorney-client privilege protects confidential communications between you and your lawyer, and Illinois discovery rules protect privileged communications between a party and the party's attorney from disclosure (Ill. S. Ct. R. 201(b)(2)). An AI tool is not your lawyer.

In United States v. Heppner, No. 25-cr-503 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2026), a federal judge in New York ruled that a criminal defendant's written exchanges with a generative AI platform were not protected by either the attorney-client privilege or the work-product doctrine. The court reasoned that no attorney-client relationship can exist between a user and an AI platform; that the exchanges were not confidential, in part because the platform's privacy policy allowed it to collect inputs and outputs and disclose data to third parties; and that the defendant used the tool on his own, not at his lawyers' direction. The court also explained that later sharing the AI output with his lawyers did not change the analysis.

The law is still developing. A New York state court, in Assini v. Hayward, 2026 NY Slip Op 26086 (Sup. Ct. Nassau County June 4, 2026), quashed a subpoena that sought a self-represented party's ChatGPT prompts and outputs from OpenAI, relying on a federal decision that allowed work-product protection for a self-represented litigant's AI use. As of October 2026, research for this article found no Illinois appellate or supreme court decision on the question. The practical lesson is the same either way: the other side may try to get your AI chats, and you may not be able to keep them out.

Can my AI chat history be used against me in a divorce?

It can be requested. Illinois discovery reaches "any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action," and "documents" include communications and electronically stored information (Ill. S. Ct. R. 201(b)(1), (b)(4)). A chat in which you describe your finances, your parenting, or your plans can be relevant in the same way an email or text would be. In Assini, one party served a subpoena on OpenAI for the other party's prompts and outputs; that court quashed it, but the case shows such requests are being made.

Two cautions follow. First, deleting a chat in your account does not necessarily delete it from the provider's systems; retention depends on the provider's terms and your settings. Second, once a case is underway, do not start deleting chat histories that relate to the case without talking to your lawyer. A party has a duty to take reasonable measures to preserve relevant evidence (Shimanovsky v. General Motors Corp., 181 Ill. 2d 112 (1998)), and destroying it can lead to sanctions.

What should I never paste into an AI tool during my divorce?

• Your lawyer's emails, letters, or draft documents, or a summary of your lawyer's advice.
• Your strategy: what you will accept in settlement, what you plan to argue, or what you are worried the other side knows.
• Your children's private information: school records, medical or counseling records, and reports from a guardian ad litem, child representative, or custody evaluator.
• The other parent's private information, including messages or records obtained in discovery.
• Anything covered by a protective order or confidentiality order. Illinois courts can enter protective orders limiting or conditioning discovery (Ill. S. Ct. R. 201(c)), and pasting protected material into an outside service may violate the order.
• Identity and account numbers: Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account numbers, and card numbers. Illinois already restricts these in court filings (Ill. S. Ct. R. 138).
• Passwords and security codes for any account.

The Illinois Supreme Court's policy on artificial intelligence, effective January 1, 2025, states that AI applications "must not compromise sensitive information, such as confidential communications, personal identifying information (PII), protected health information (PHI)." For more on protecting your devices and accounts during a case, see digital privacy during divorce.

Can I use ChatGPT to write court papers or research Illinois law?

Illinois permits it, with responsibility attached. The Illinois Supreme Court's AI policy says the use of AI by litigants and attorneys "is authorized provided it complies with legal and ethical standards," and that disclosure of AI use "should not be required in a pleading." The same policy states that attorneys, judges, and self-represented litigants "are accountable for their final work product" and "must thoroughly review AI-generated content before submitting it in any court proceeding."

That accountability is real. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137, anyone who signs a court filing, including a person without a lawyer, certifies that, after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and warranted by existing law or a good-faith argument for changing it, and a court can impose sanctions, including the other side's attorney's fees, for a filing that is not. In In re Baby Boy, 2025 IL App (4th) 241427, an appeal from the termination of a parent's rights, the appellate court found that the parent's attorney had cited eight nonexistent cases. It ordered him to return the $6,925.62 he had been paid for the appeal and to pay a $1,000 sanction, and it directed that the opinion be sent to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.

AI tools also make quieter mistakes. They may describe another state's law as if it applied in Illinois, rely on rules that have since changed, or state a general rule without the exceptions that decide real cases. If an AI tool tells you something about your case, treat it as a question to ask your lawyer, not an answer.

Can I use AI-made or AI-edited evidence in a custody case?

Do not try. A photo, audio clip, or message that has been generated or altered with AI, even to "clean it up," invites a challenge under Illinois Rule of Evidence 901, which requires evidence sufficient to show an exhibit is what you claim it is. If the court concludes an exhibit was fabricated, the consequences can include sanctions, fee awards, and lasting damage to your credibility. Give your lawyer the unedited original and let your lawyer decide how to present it. If you believe the other side is offering AI-made or altered evidence, see fake texts, photos, and deepfakes in Illinois family court.

The same caution applies to messages to the other parent. Using AI to soften the tone of a co-parenting message can be helpful, but you are responsible for what you send. Read it carefully, remove anything you did not mean, and assume the judge may read it someday.

When is it reasonable to use AI during a divorce?

Used carefully, AI can save time and stress. Lower-risk uses include:

• learning what general legal terms mean, such as "allocation of parental responsibilities" or "dissipation," and then confirming with your lawyer how they apply to you;
• organizing your own questions before a meeting with your lawyer;
• building a household budget template or a parenting-time calendar template, without filling in identifying details; and
• using a tool your lawyer provides or approves for your case.

Before you use any tool, check three things: the type of information you are about to share, the kind of account you are using (a free consumer account, a paid plan, or a business account set up by an employer or law firm), and the provider's terms on data retention, training, and disclosure. Those terms differ by provider and change over time.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

Before you upload anything from your case to an AI tool. Right away if you have already pasted your lawyer's advice, discovery materials, or your children's records into one; do not delete anything in a panic, because preservation duties may apply. Immediately if you receive a discovery request or subpoena that asks for your AI chats or accounts. Before you file anything an AI tool helped write. And if you suspect the other side is using AI-generated evidence against you.

About this article

Jonathan D. Steele, a partner at Beermann LLP, presented "AI & Automation for Solos: Productivity Without Confidentiality Regrets," a table clinic for lawyers at the Illinois State Bar Association Solo & Small Firm Conference in Peoria on September 17, 2026. The clinic covered what to check before client information goes into an AI tool. This article applies the same questions from the client's side. His other programs are listed on the speaking page. To discuss a case, call (312) 621-4394 or use the contact form.

Sources

• Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Artificial Intelligence (eff. Jan. 1, 2025): illinoiscourts.gov
• Illinois Supreme Court Rules 137, 138, and 201: illinoiscourts.gov; Illinois Rule of Evidence 901: illinoiscourts.gov
• United States v. Heppner, No. 1:25-cr-00503 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2026), ECF No. 27: docket
• Assini v. Hayward, 2026 NY Slip Op 26086 (Sup. Ct. Nassau County 2026): opinion
• In re Baby Boy, 2025 IL App (4th) 241427: opinion
• Shimanovsky v. General Motors Corp., 181 Ill. 2d 112 (1998): opinion

This article explains general Illinois law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Written by Jonathan D. Steele

Chicago divorce attorney with cybersecurity certifications (Security+, ISC2 CC, Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate). Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star 2016-2025.

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