Illinois' Congress recently ratified the federal Equal Rights Amendment, making Illinois the 37th state to do so. The deadline for states to approve the amendment expired decades ago, but ERA advocates believe that reaching the 38-state requirement now would still allow the amendment to be enacted. ERA opponents have long argued that the amendment would allow federal overreach into state laws and diminish women’s rights in certain areas, including divorce and family law. However, Illinois divorce laws already include gender neutrality in their language.

ERA and Family Law

The ERA that the U.S. Congress approved is comprised of three sections, that state:

A subpoena is a written order for an individual to appear in court. In cases where the divorcing partners can cooperate with each other, subpoenas are often not necessary. But when the parties cannot get along, one party refuses to obey the court's orders, or one party is suspected of hiding assets from the other, the court may use a subpoena to require a divorcing individual to come to hearings and comply with its other requirements.

Receiving a subpoena can be confusing. If you are currently going through a divorce and you have received an order to appear, or your partner is not cooperating with the court and your divorce is becoming drawn out and draining your resources, talk about your subpoena and any related divorce issues with an experienced divorce attorney. A divorce consists of many elements and it can be difficult for an individual to keep track of each piece.

What Can a Subpoena Do?