Nationally, a divorce handled by attorneys costs about $11,300 on average.
The gap in what people pay isn’t about some lawyers overcharging. It’s that the cost of a divorce tracks one thing above all else: how much you and your spouse fight. Below, I’ll break down what pushes the number up or down, what you’re actually paying for beyond the lawyer, how attorneys bill, what happens if money is tight or your spouse controls it, and the cheaper routes Illinois law makes available.
Why is the range so wide — what makes one divorce a few hundred dollars and another $30,000?
The single biggest factor is whether your divorce is uncontested (you both agree on the major terms) or contested (you don’t, and a lawyer has to negotiate or litigate each disagreement). An uncontested divorce is mostly paperwork. A contested one is billable hours — and hours are where the money goes.
Here’s the part people find surprising: it isn’t the calendar that runs up the bill. Illinois divorces take a median of about 170 days — roughly five and a half months. What drives cost isn’t how long the case sits on the docket. It’s how many hours of dispute pile up inside it. Two couples can both finish in six months; one spends $3,000 and the other $30,000, entirely because of how much they fought along the way.
What actually drives up the cost in my situation?
Cost climbs with the number of things you and your spouse can’t resolve on your own. If you can locate yourself among the factors below, you can roughly place yourself on the price spectrum.
- Children. Illinois calls this the allocation of parental responsibilities — the modern term for custody, meaning decision-making authority and parenting time. Disagreements over it are one of the most expensive things to fight about, because they can require custody evaluators, child representatives, and multiple hearings.
- The size and complexity of what you own. A checking account and one car split fast. A house, a family business, retirement accounts, or stock options take appraisals, valuations, and negotiation. The more there is to divide, the more hours it takes to divide it.
- Maintenance. If maintenance — spousal support, formerly called alimony — is on the table, that’s another issue to negotiate or litigate, and another line on the bill.
- A spouse who won’t cooperate. This is the biggest multiplier of all. A spouse who hides assets, ignores deadlines, or fights every point forces formal discovery — the legal process of demanding documents and answers under oath. Each round of it costs money.
One category you can’t run up the bill on is blame. Illinois is a pure no-fault state. The only ground for divorce is irreconcilable differences, and six months living separate and apart automatically proves it (750 ILCS 5/401). No one argues over who caused the marriage to end, because the court doesn’t care and won’t hear it. That takes an entire expensive fight off the table before you start.
Besides the lawyer, what else am I paying for?
Beyond attorney’s fees, you’ll pay a court filing fee and — only if your case is complicated — the cost of experts. The filing fee is set by the circuit clerk in the county where you file and varies from county to county.
The expert costs are the ones that surprise people, and they only appear when the drivers above are present. If a spouse owns a business or you suspect hidden or wasted money, a forensic accountant — an investigator who traces where funds went — typically runs anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 or more. Business valuators, real estate appraisers, and custody evaluators carry their own fees. None of this is universal. It’s triggered by specific complications, which is exactly why a simple divorce stays cheap and a contested one with a business in the middle does not.
How do divorce lawyers charge — and what’s a retainer?
Most Illinois divorce lawyers bill by the hour. A retainer is a deposit, not the total price. The lawyer bills their hourly work against it and, in a straightforward case, may not use all of it.
Illinois law also protects you here: non-refundable retainers are prohibited under 750 ILCS 5/508(f)(5). A lawyer can’t keep money for work they didn’t do. If your case wraps up using less than you deposited, the unearned portion is yours. That means the retainer is a starting figure tied to expected work, not a blank check you’ve signed away.
What if I can’t afford it — or my spouse controls all the money?
If your spouse earns far more or holds the accounts, an Illinois court can order that spouse to contribute to your attorney’s fees. You are not locked out of representation because you’re the lower-earning partner. This is one of the most important and least-known features of Illinois divorce law.
There are three ways it works:
- Need-based fee awards (750 ILCS 5/508(a)). The court can shift fees based on the financial gap between you. To get an award, you show your own inability to pay and your spouse’s ability to do so. That’s the standard the Illinois Supreme Court set in In re Marriage of Schneider, 214 Ill. 2d 152 (2005).
- Interim fees while the case is pending (750 ILCS 5/501(c-1)). You don’t have to wait until the end. The court can order fees mid-case, through a quick summary hearing, to achieve substantial parity. That means neither spouse can use greater wealth as a weapon to out-lawyer the other. These awards are temporary and get squared up at the end (In re Marriage of Arjmand, 2017 IL App (2d) 160631).
- Sanctions for a spouse who fights dirty (750 ILCS 5/508(b)). If your spouse drives up costs through harassment, needless delay, or refusing to follow court orders, the court can make them pay the fees that conduct caused. No proof of financial need is required.
The practical takeaway: affordability isn’t only about your bank balance. It’s about the gap between you and your spouse, and Illinois law gives judges tools to close it.
Is there a cheaper way to get divorced in Illinois?
Yes — the more you and your spouse agree, the less you pay, and Illinois offers a streamlined track for the simplest cases. The two levers are settling and, for those who qualify, simplified dissolution.
- Reach a marital settlement agreement. A marital settlement agreement is a written contract resolving property, support, and other terms (750 ILCS 5/502). Once it’s signed and approved, there’s no trial — and trial is the most expensive phase of any divorce. Settling the issues you can settle, even if a few remain, cuts hours off the bill.
- Joint simplified dissolution (750 ILCS 5/452). Illinois has a fast, low-cost procedure for couples who qualify — generally those with no minor children, limited property, and a short marriage. If you fit, it’s the cheapest route available.
A word of caution on doing it entirely alone: going it alone works only when there’s genuinely little to divide and no real disagreement. If there’s a house, a retirement account, or a child involved, a mistake in the paperwork can cost far more than the fee you saved.
What can I do to keep my own costs down?
You control more of the bill than you’d think. Since you’re paying largely for time, anything that reduces your lawyer’s hours reduces your cost.
- Come organized. Gather tax returns, pay stubs, and account statements before your first meeting. You’ll need them anyway — Illinois requires a sworn financial affidavit, a detailed statement of income and assets. There are mandatory sanctions for filing one that’s intentionally inaccurate (750 ILCS 5/501(a)(1)). Do it once, do it right.
- Respond promptly. Every ignored email or missed document turns into a follow-up you’re billed for.
- Pick your battles. Fighting over the couch to make a point can cost more than the couch. Save the fight for what matters.
- Use your lawyer for legal work. Your attorney bills their hourly rate whether you’re discussing the parenting schedule or venting about your marriage. A friend or therapist is a better — and free — audience for the second one.
How do I find out what my divorce would actually cost?
The honest answer is that a real number requires a real look at your facts. That’s what a consultation is for — it turns the range on this page into an estimate for your situation. Three steps to take now:
- Pull together your financial documents — tax returns, pay stubs, account and debt statements.
- Write down where you and your spouse agree and where you don’t.
- Sit down with a divorce attorney who can price your case and, if the money is lopsided, tell you whether fee-shifting is realistic.
That last point is where experience matters. At Lafata Law in DuPage County, Megan Lafata and Tom Elsner each spent years as DuPage County prosecutors and tried over 100 cases to verdict apiece. That trial background is exactly what you want when a spouse won’t cooperate and your case drifts toward a contested hearing — the moment costs spike is the moment you need someone who has actually stood in front of a judge. They can also assess early whether Illinois’s fee-shifting provisions apply to you, so that cost isn’t the thing that decides whether you get real representation.
If you’re weighing a divorce in DuPage County or the surrounding area, a conversation with Lafata Law will give you a straight answer about what your case is likely to cost and how to keep it as low as your circumstances allow.
This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Divorce outcomes and costs depend on the specific facts of your case, and you should consult a licensed Illinois attorney about your situation.