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.
After thirty-seven years of marriage, the union between Doreen Berrien and Claude Berrien stands at its final juncture. On July 28, 2025, Doreen Berrien filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in Cook County, Illinois, marking the formal start of a legal unraveling shaped by decades of shared history and now, profound separation. The couple, who wed on May 28, 1988 in Chicago, have long since ceased to live as husband and wife, though they still inhabit the same marital home in Lynwood—a residence now divided not by walls, but by silence.
Doreen, 66, represented by limited-scope attorney Schylon Lane of The Elite Law Group, contends that irreconcilable differences have led to the irretrievable breakdown of their marriage. The petition cites that reconciliation efforts have failed and any future attempts would not serve the interests of either party.
Their two children are now grown and emancipated, and no other children were born or adopted during the marriage. Doreen asserts that she is without sufficient means to support herself, and has petitioned the court for both temporary and permanent spousal support, arguing that Claude—a working truck driver at age 68—is capable of supporting himself and should be barred from receiving maintenance. She also seeks equitable division of both marital and non-marital property, and a return to her former name.
In this quiet but significant filing, a long life together moves to closure, with Cook County’s courts left to sift through what remains of a marriage that once promised permanence.
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