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.

Winter has a way of stripping things down to their essentials. The petition dissolving the marriage of Kisch Whalen and Scott Whalen was filed January 7, 2026, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, at a moment when the year was still bare-limbed and honest. End-of-December filings—those hurried papers slipped in between December 28 and 31—often feel like leaves swept into a corner, an effort to clear the ground before the calendar turns. January filings are different. They arrive without apology, shaped by resolve rather than relief.

Kisch and Scott, both 50, were married in Mount Prospect in August 1999. They built a long life together, raised two children—now emancipated—and accumulated property, debt, and the quiet wear that time brings. By the start of 2026, irreconcilable differences had taken hold, and reconciliation was no longer seen as possible or wise.

Represented by attorneys from Stingle Perkoski LLC, Kisch asked the court for a measured reckoning. Her petition seeks a judgment dissolving the marriage; an equitable division of marital property and debts; assignment of each party’s non-marital property, with reimbursement where appropriate; an order barring Scott from receiving maintenance; an award of maintenance to Kisch under the statute; an order requiring Scott to contribute to Kisch’s attorneys’ fees and costs; permission for Kisch to resume her former name; and any further relief the court deems just.

Scott is described as able-bodied and capable of supporting himself. Kisch, not currently employed, asserts a need for support consistent with the life she helped build. Filed at the year’s beginning, the petition reads like winter soil turned over—exposed, necessary, and preparing the ground for what must come next.

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