Kane County Divorce & Family Law Attorney

Where Kane County cases are heard

Divorce, parentage, support and order-of-protection cases for Kane County residents are filed and heard in the 16th Judicial Circuit at the Kane County Judicial Center, 37W777 State Route 38, St. Charles, IL 60175. The court's main number is (630) 232-5805; the Circuit Clerk is (630) 232-3413. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Venue is set by statute: under 750 ILCS 5/104, a dissolution case is brought in the county where either party resides. If you live in Kane County, that is Kane County — even if your spouse has moved elsewhere in Illinois. Separately, 750 ILCS 5/401 requires that one spouse has been an Illinois resident (or stationed in Illinois on military duty) for 90 days before the court enters a judgment of dissolution. The 90 days runs to judgment, not to filing.

Two practical notes from the circuit's local rules. Under Local Rule 14.04, emergency motions are heard in person by the assigned judge, so if you are bringing a true emergency, plan to be at the Judicial Center. Under Local Rule 14.10, agreed judgments may be e-filed for entry without a court appearance, which means a fully settled divorce can often be finished without either of you standing in a courtroom.

Kane County Judicial Center directory listing

What the Kane County court will require of you

The 16th Judicial Circuit's Article 14 local rules front-load a lot of work. Knowing the sequence lets you get ahead of it instead of reacting to deadlines.

• Financial Affidavit within 30 days — Local Rule 14.11. The parties exchange the Financial Affidavit within 30 days of the appearance or responsive pleading. It is not filed with the clerk. Until it is served, no discovery goes out. Gathering pay records, account statements, tax returns and debt balances now saves weeks later, and the affidavit is the document the court uses when weighing temporary relief under 750 ILCS 5/501, property questions under 750 ILCS 5/503, maintenance under 750 ILCS 5/504, and child support under 750 ILCS 5/505.
• KiDs 1st parenting education. Kane County's court-approved program under 750 ILCS 5/404.1 is KiDs 1st. It applies to all parents and custodians in pending cases where allocation of parental responsibilities may be at issue, and completing it is a prerequisite to court-ordered mediation under Local Rule 14.16(c). It is offered online as virtual sessions or in person, in English and Spanish. To register, email kids1st@co.kane.il.us with your case number, then complete the UPtoPARENTS tutorial and test. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 924 addresses parenting education programs of this kind. KiDs 1st information and registration
• Mediation — Local Rule 14.16. Kane County requires mediation for allocation of parental responsibilities, parenting time, relocation and other non-economic child issues. Mediators screen for impediments such as domestic violence; if that screening applies to you, say so rather than working around it. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 905 governs mediation programs for these disputes.
• Parenting plan — 750 ILCS 5/602.10. A proposed parenting plan is due within 120 days after service or filing. The plan is where decision-making under 750 ILCS 5/602.5 and a parenting-time schedule under 750 ILCS 5/602.7 get written down concretely.
• Settlement conference before trial — Local Rule 14.13. No trial date is set until at least one settlement conference has been held with the court.

Other statutes that come up early: 750 ILCS 5/603.5 for a temporary allocation of parental responsibilities while the case is pending, 750 ILCS 5/603.10 where serious endangerment is alleged, 750 ILCS 5/501(c-2) for temporary support and exclusive possession of the marital residence, and 750 ILCS 5/510 after judgment for modification of support or of an allocation judgment. If a move is on the table, 750 ILCS 5/609.2 treats a move of more than 25 miles from Kane County as relocation requiring notice and, if contested, court approval.

Article 14 local rules (PDF)

Local help in Kane County

Some needs are better met by a local organization than by a law office, and there is no reason to wait for a lawyer before calling one.

• Mutual Ground — the local domestic violence organization, with legal advocacy available. Hotline: (630) 897-0080. mutualground.org
• Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline — (877) 863-6338. Hotline information
• Prairie State Legal Services (West Suburban office) — civil legal aid for those who qualify. (815) 965-2134. pslegal.org
• Kane County Circuit Clerk — (630) 232-3413 for filing questions, case numbers and copies of your file.

If safety is the immediate issue, the remedies available in an order of protection are listed at 750 ILCS 60/214, and 750 ILCS 60/217 allows an emergency order of protection to be entered without prior notice to the other party. An advocate at Mutual Ground can go through the petition process with you, whether or not you have a lawyer yet.

Working with this office

Jonathan D. Steele practices at Beermann LLP, 161 N. Clark St., Suite 3000, Chicago, IL 60601, (312) 621-4394. The practice covers 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. Jonathan holds cybersecurity credentials (CompTIA Security+, ISC2 CC, EC-Council CEH), which matters when a case depends on what a device or an account can actually show.

How to start. Prospects begin with a short online form. The office then runs a conflict check and calls back, and a 15-minute screening call can be booked online. That call is for figuring out whether the matter is a fit and what the next step should be; it is not a full case review.

What to have ready. Before the screening call, try to know: whether a case has been filed and, if so, the Kane County case number; whether children are involved and what the current schedule looks like in practice; your income sources and your estimate of the other party's; a list of accounts, real estate and debts; and anything time-sensitive, such as a court date, a served petition, or a safety concern. Because Local Rule 14.11 puts the Financial Affidavit on a 30-day clock and blocks discovery until it is served, early document-gathering is not wasted effort no matter who ends up representing you.