Disclaimer: All facts gleaned from the filings stated hereafter are only as truthful as the petitioner. The tone of this article expresses a style of writing historically employed by America’s greatest writers and, as such, is for opinion purposes only. No intentional harm is due. Do not read if the topic of divorce (even your own) causes you emotional distress. Continue at your own risk.
The illusions of permanence that once held a family together have begun to fray, quietly, like fabric worn too thin at the seams. On May 12, 2025, Todd Ivens filed a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, formally initiating proceedings to end his nearly twelve-year marriage to Ivette Ivens.
The marriage, solemnized in the ephemeral glow of Las Vegas in May 2013, had yielded two sons—now 10 and 13. Despite physical distance—Ivette residing in Kahului, Hawaii, and Todd in Hinsdale, Illinois—the petitioner argues that both parents remain fit to share joint parental responsibilities, advocating significant parenting time for each.
But beneath the civility, the petition, drafted by Todd’s counsel at Merel Family Law, reveals a quiet finality. Irreconcilable differences, it states, have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the union. Attempts at reconciliation have failed; any further endeavor would be, as the pleading asserts, “impractical and not in the best interests of the family.”
Todd seeks a just division of both marital and non-marital assets and requests that Ivette, described as capable and self-sufficient, be barred from receiving maintenance. He asks the court to assign her responsibility for her own legal expenses and to require her contribution to the children’s insurance, education, and future college costs.
There are no allegations of abuse, no pending protection orders, only the solemn, certified statement that what was once shared must now be equitably divided—each party tasked with building anew.
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