"When does my Divorce Decree become effective? My fiancee and
I are anxious to set a date for our wedding. And what happens after the Divorce Decree has
been entered?"
The Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage
is effective when the judge signs the Judgment. Illinois does not have a waiting period
for the Judgment to become effective, as some other states do. Frequently, when the
parties have a signed Marital Settlement Agreement at the end of the uncontested prove-up,
the court will enter the Judgment instanter, ie. the Judgment takes effect
immediately. That decision is the judge's, but usually when both parties ask that the
Judgment be entered instanter, the judge will do so. However, the judge may not agree to
enter the instanter when the judge wants time to read the transcript (which may not be
ready for a week to 28 days after the prove-up), or the judge may not enter the Judgment
if the parties have made substantial changes to their written agreement which are not
reflected in the agreement, but are testified to by the parties during the prove-up.
When the parties do not have a written
agreement, but can agree on the outstanding issues and ask the court to prove-up the
matter, the Court will not enter the Judgment instanter until there is a signed written
agreement. The parties are bound by their testimony in court, but the written agreement
may be more detailed than what the parties testified to during the prove-up. Then the
Judgment is prepared by the parties' attorneys, who will use the transcript to aid them in
preparing the Judgment.
If you obtain a default judgment against
your spouse, the Judgment probably will not be effective at the time of the prove-up. A
default judgment occurs when your spouse has been properly served (either personally or by
publication), but fails to file an appearance or otherwise cooperates in the process. Your
spouse will be given notice of the prove-up date, but no agreement can be presented to the
judge because your spouse has not participated. At the end of the prove-up, the Court will
direct your attorney to file the transcript and give notice of the filing and presentation
of the Judgment to your spouse. Again, the time between the prove-up and the entry of the
Judgment may take about 30 days. During this period, you are neither divorced nor free to
legally remarry.
If you and your spouse cannot reach an
agreement, the judge will conduct a trial and render his decision. The decision may be
done at the end of the trial when the judge gives his oral opinion, and then the attorneys
will prepare the judgment; or, the judge may issue a written opinion after the close of
the trial. Again, once the Judgment is signed, you are free to remarry.
Karen Bowes practices family law including
divorce, custody, and paternity litigation.
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