Divorce Professionals | Divorce Articles | Divorce FAQs | Online Forum | Divorce Resources | Advertise

Divorce Polls  |  Magazine Subscription  |  Free eNewsletter  |  Web Links  |  Dating  Contact
Find a Professional
Find a divorce lawyer, mediator, accountant, Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, therapist and more...
Click Here to Advertise With Us

online divorce: complete case
Free Divorce Magazine
Vital information about separation & divorce

This site sponsored by:
Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois Rinella and Rinella, LTD - Family Law Attorneys Divorce University Feinberg & Barry
Illinois Divorce Advice, Illinois Divorce Mediation
< previous page

SECTIONNote that information given in this section cannot take the place of a divorce lawyer. For legal divorce advice about your specific situation, you must consult a qualified lawyer. See our disclaimer.

"What if we try divorce mediation and it doesn’t work out? Do we have to go to court, or are there other options?"

With or without a mediator, you still need to go to court to get divorced. Only a judge has the authority to grant a judgment for divorce. But if you reach an agreement with a mediator, you can incorporate that agreement into your divorce judgment and make the divorce process much quicker and simpler.

If you don’t reach an agreement with a mediator, you still have to go to court. The difference is, then you and your spouse will be fighting in court and probably paying lawyers to do so. The result is that you spend a lot more time and money in court, as well as a lot more grief and aggravation out of court.

Like it or not, at this point, those are your options.


About the author of this Illinois Divorce FAQ:

Karen A. Covy, J.D. is an attorney and family-law mediator in Chicago. She owns and operates Midwest Mediation as well as a successful family-law firm. This answer is an excerpt from When Happily Ever After Ends (2006), used by permission of its publisher, Sphinx Publishing, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. She can be reached at (312) 236-1670. View her Divorce Magazine profile.