DuPage County Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where DuPage County cases are heard

Family cases for DuPage County residents go to the DuPage County Judicial Center (18th Judicial Circuit) at 505 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187. The Domestic Relations Division office is Room 2015, and domestic relations cases are heard in Courtroom 2002. The division's phone number is (630) 407-8904.

Venue is set by statute: under 750 ILCS 5/104, a dissolution case is properly brought in the county where either party resides. So if you live in DuPage County, Wheaton is the right courthouse even if your spouse has moved elsewhere in Illinois — and if your spouse still lives in DuPage County after you have moved, a case can still be filed here. Before a judgment of dissolution can be entered, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires 90 days of Illinois residency (or military presence in the state).

If you are not represented yet and need to understand the filing steps, the circuit runs a Domestic Relations Pro Se Court and law library help desks. Those services explain procedure; they do not take your side in the case. Details are on the court's page for Domestic Relations Pro Se Court, and the division's own page is at dupagecourts.gov.

What the court will require of you

Parenting education. DuPage County's course is Caring, Coping and Children, run through the DuPage County Family Center. It is for all divorcing and never-married parents, delivered as an online co-parenting course in English and Spanish, with registration at fcreg.dupagecounty.gov. Parenting education in dissolution cases is authorized by 750 ILCS 5/404.1 and by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924. Register early rather than waiting to be reminded; completing it before a status date is one less thing holding up your schedule.

Mediation. The DuPage County Family Center at 422 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton, IL 60187 — across County Farm Road from the courthouse — provides mediation, and also supervised parenting time, neutral exchange, and the PEACE class. Reach the Family Center at (630) 407-2450. Hours are Mon–Tue 8:30–5, Wed–Fri 8:30–9 p.m., Sat 8–12:30, Sun 3–8 p.m. Court-connected mediation of parenting disputes is contemplated by Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905. Mediation is for the parenting questions — decision-making and schedule — not for dividing property.

A parenting plan. Under 750 ILCS 5/602.10, each parent files a proposed parenting plan within 120 days after service or filing. The plan is where you set out significant decision-making responsibilities (750 ILCS 5/602.5) and the schedule each parent will have with the children. If the two of you agree, you file one plan jointly.

Financial disclosure. Property is divided under 750 ILCS 5/503, maintenance is decided under 750 ILCS 5/504 (with the guideline formula at 504(b-1)), and child support is calculated on the income shares model under 750 ILCS 5/505. All three depend on documented income and assets, so start pulling records now: pay records, tax returns, bank and brokerage statements, retirement statements, business books if you own one.

If you need something decided before the case ends. 750 ILCS 5/501 covers temporary relief, including temporary support and exclusive possession of the marital residence under 501(c-2). 750 ILCS 5/603.5 covers a temporary allocation of parental responsibilities. Where a child is seriously endangered, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 allows the court to restrict parental responsibilities.

Moving with a child. Because DuPage is one of the collar counties named in 750 ILCS 5/609.2, a move of more than 25 miles from your DuPage County residence is a relocation requiring notice and, if the other parent objects, court approval. Out of state, the threshold is 25 miles. Ask before you sign a lease.

After the judgment. Support and allocation judgments can be modified under 750 ILCS 5/510 when the standard in that section is met.

Local help in DuPage County

• DuPage Legal Aid — (630) 653-6212, dupagelegalaid.org. Start here if paying an attorney is not realistic right now.
• DuPage County Family Center, 422 N. County Farm Rd., Wheaton — (630) 407-2450. Parenting education registration, mediation, supervised parenting time, neutral exchange, and the PEACE class. Program information.
• Family Shelter Service (Metropolitan Family Services) hotline — (630) 469-5650. The county court's resources page for victims of domestic violence lists local services.
• Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline — (877) 863-6338, listed by the Illinois Attorney General.
• Domestic Relations Pro Se Court and law library help desks at the Judicial Center, for procedural questions if you are filing on your own.

If you are in immediate danger, an emergency order of protection can be entered without prior notice to the other party under 750 ILCS 60/217. Call the hotline numbers above first if you need somewhere safe to go tonight; the paperwork can follow.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices with Beermann LLP at 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601. The office handles divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities and parenting time, child support and maintenance, orders of protection, and post-decree enforcement, with particular experience in cases that turn on financial records and digital evidence — concealed assets and crypto, message and parenting-app records, spyware and account intrusions. That work is supported by cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH).

To start: complete the short online form. The office runs a conflict check and calls back, and you can book a 15-minute screening call online. The phone number is (312) 621-4394. Bring what you already have — filed papers, any existing order, a rough list of accounts and debts — so the screening call can be spent on your actual situation rather than background.

This week, three things are worth doing regardless of who represents you: register for Caring, Coping and Children if you have children, begin gathering financial records, and write down the parenting schedule you are actually living now, with dates. Those three items feed directly into the parenting plan and the support calculation.