How much does an Illinois divorce cost in 2026?

You probably found this page late on a Sunday with a tab open to LegalZoom and another tab open to a local law-firm intake form. You are trying to answer the question every divorcing parent in Illinois eventually asks: what is this actually going to cost me?

The honest answer is "it depends," but that answer is useless. So here are the real ranges, broken out line by line, with sources and the math behind them, written by someone who has paid for one of these himself.

The short answer

For a typical Illinois divorce in 2026:

• Uncontested, no kids, full agreement: $1,500 to $4,000 per side.
• Uncontested with children, full agreement: $3,000 to $7,000 per side.
• Contested with children, normal disputes: $7,500 to $25,000 per side.
• High-conflict contested, custody disputes, business valuation: $25,000 to $100,000+ per side.

Those are real numbers from Illinois family-law attorneys I have talked to, cross-checked against the 2024 Illinois Bar Foundation cost survey. The single biggest determinant of where you land in those ranges is not your county, it is not your attorney's hourly rate. It is how many issues are actually disputed.

Line-by-line: where the money actually goes

1. Filing fee: $289 to $337

Every Illinois divorce starts with the petitioner paying a filing fee to the circuit clerk of the county where the case is filed. In Cook County the fee is $289 as of 2026. In DuPage and Lake the fee is closer to $337. Your responding spouse pays a separate response fee of around $250.

If your household income is below 125 percent of the federal poverty line, you can file an Application for Waiver of Court Fees (form FW-001 in most counties) and pay zero. About 18 percent of Illinois divorce filings include a fee waiver application according to AOIC reporting.

2. Attorney intake / retainer: $1,500 to $6,000

Most Illinois family-law attorneys charge a retainer up front. The retainer is not the total cost. It is a deposit against the first chunk of work. Typical retainers in 2026:

• Solo practitioner in a downstate county: $1,500 to $2,500.
• Suburban mid-size firm in Lake or DuPage: $2,500 to $4,000.
• Chicago boutique family-law firm: $4,000 to $6,000.
• Top-tier high-net-worth firm: $10,000 to $25,000.

The retainer covers the initial consult, the first round of pleadings (petition, response, financial disclosure), and the first hearing or two. Once the retainer is drawn down, you pay hourly going forward.

3. Hourly attorney work: $250 to $450 per hour

Illinois family-law attorney hourly rates as of 2026:

• Junior associate: $200 to $275.
• Mid-level associate or solo: $275 to $375.
• Senior partner: $375 to $475.
• Top-tier Chicago partner: $500 to $750.

The hours you accumulate depend almost entirely on whether the case is contested. An uncontested case where both spouses agree on parenting time, support, and asset division typically runs 10 to 25 hours of attorney time start to finish. A contested case where custody is in dispute can run 100 to 300 hours of attorney time across both sides.

4. The 13.3.1 financial affidavit: $1,000 to $4,800 per draft

Every Illinois divorce that touches child support or maintenance produces at least one financial affidavit on the Illinois Supreme Court 13.3.1 form. Most contested cases produce two or three drafts on each side as the case progresses. A handful of cases produce six or more.

Most attorneys bill 4 to 12 hours per draft, depending on the complexity of your finances. At $250 to $400 per hour, that is $1,000 to $4,800 per draft. Multiplied by two or three drafts, it is the single largest line item in a typical contested case after the actual hearings.

This is also the line item most under your control. If you walk into your attorney's office with a clean, complete, document-backed 13.3.1 already assembled, the attorney's time on this line drops to one to two hours of review. The attorney paperwork fees guide breaks that math out further.

5. Mediation: $200 to $500 per hour

Most Illinois counties require mediation for any case involving child custody before it goes to a contested trial. Court-rostered mediators charge $200 to $350 per hour. Private mediators in Chicago can charge $400 to $500 per hour.

Total mediation cost runs $1,000 to $5,000 split between the parties, depending on how many sessions you need. Most cases settle in two to four sessions of two hours each. A handful drag on longer.

6. Guardian ad Litem (GAL): $1,500 to $10,000

If your case has contested custody, the court can appoint a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) to represent your children's best interests. The GAL is an attorney. The court orders one or both parents to pay. GAL rates run $250 to $400 an hour. Total GAL cost in a normal case runs $2,500 to $6,000. In a high-conflict case with home visits, psych evaluations, and a written report, the GAL bill can cross $15,000.

7. Expert witnesses: $0 to $25,000

Some cases require a vocational evaluator (if a spouse claims they cannot work), a forensic accountant (if there is a business to value), or a child custody evaluator (for high-conflict parenting disputes). Expert witness fees typically run $3,000 to $25,000. Most uncontested cases have no expert witness cost. Most contested cases have one.

8. Miscellaneous: $300 to $1,500

Process service, deposition transcripts, certified copies, parking at the courthouse on hearing days. None of these line items are big on their own. Together they add up to $300 to $1,500 over the life of a typical case.

The hidden costs no one warns you about

Lost work hours

Every court appearance is a half-day of missed work. Most contested cases require six to twelve appearances over twelve to twenty-four months. If you bill $50 an hour at your day job, that is $2,400 to $4,800 in opportunity cost. If you bill $150 an hour, it is $7,200 to $14,400.

Therapy and mental health

The American Psychological Association reports that 60 percent of divorcing adults start therapy during the case. At $150 to $250 per session, weekly for a year, that is $7,800 to $13,000. Your insurance probably covers a chunk of it, but not all.

Refiling and modifications

Roughly 35 percent of Illinois child-support orders get modified within five years of the original judgment. Every modification means another 13.3.1, another round of paperwork, and another small bill from your attorney. Budget for one $1,500 to $4,000 modification within five years of the final order.

Where Casefile fits in this picture

The single largest line item you control is the paperwork. Specifically, the financial affidavit and the supporting document bundle. If you walk into the first meeting with a complete 13.3.1 and every supporting bank statement, pay stub, and court order organized in one ZIP, you save your attorney four to ten hours of intake work per draft. At $300 an hour, that is $1,200 to $3,000 per draft. Across a typical contested case with two or three drafts, that is $3,600 to $9,000.

Casefile is a one-time $147. One payment, for one case — less than the cost of one hour of your attorney typing your bank statements into the form. The math is not subtle.

For the full story of why this product exists, see the founder page.