How Can Temporary Orders Help Me During My Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on April 10, 2020 in Divorce

Getting a divorce is a stressful situation, with much of that stress stemming from the uncertainty of the situation. Once your divorce is finalized, you will have an agreement in writing for how issues will be handled moving forward. You and your spouse must create a parenting plan that will be followed as you raise your children. This may also include a spousal support and/or child support agreement, so you have a better picture of your future financial situation. However, what happens before you reach that step? During the divorce process, it is not uncommon for one spouse to move out of the family home, and you and your spouse will begin separating your finances and other aspects of your lives. During this time, temporary orders can be put into place to help alleviate some of the anxiety during the transition.

What Do Temporary Orders Address?

Illinois courts always believe that the best and most beneficial way to handle domestic disputes is for the parties to work together to come up with a solution. During a divorce, this may be difficult to do, which is when temporary court orders can come in handy. As you work to complete your divorce, you can ask the judge for temporary relief to address things such as parenting time or child support while the case is pending. When granted, temporary orders will typically remain in effect until your divorce is finalized. Common temporary orders can include:

• Granting possession of the marital home: You can ask the judge to grant you possession of the marital home during the divorce, but you and your spouse will have to attend a hearing on this matter. The judge will typically grant temporary possession to one spouse if it is found that both spouses having possession of the house would not be in the best interests of the family.

• Ordering a spouse to contribute to household bills: Even if you are granted temporary possession of the home, you can still petition to have your spouse contribute to household expenses. This is typically awarded in situations when the spouse who is still living in the marital home does not have enough income to cover all of the costs to maintain it.

• Giving one spouse custody of a pet: You may ask the court to award temporary custody of a family pet to you. The judge has the ability to award custody to one spouse or to require spouses to share the responsibility for the pet during the divorce.

• Addressing parenting time and child support: One of the biggest concerns of divorcing parents is their children. You can ask the court to assign a certain amount of parenting time to each of you, in addition to requiring a spouse to pay child support during the divorce process. Typically, if one parent will be living with one parent for the majority of the time, the other parent will pay child support to him or her.

• Preventing a spouse from taking certain actions: If you are concerned that your spouse will not take the news of the divorce well, you can ask the judge to enter into an order that legally prevents your spouse from doing things such as dissipating marital assets or removing a child from the court’s jurisdiction.

Contact a Geneva Divorce Attorney

There are many steps you must go through when you file for divorce. Depending on the method you choose to end your marriage, you could be looking at months or possibly even years before your divorce is finalized. During this time, temporary orders can allow you to maintain a sense of normalcy for your family. At the Law Office of Matthew M. Williams, P.C., we can help protect your rights every step of the way. Call our skilled Kane County divorce lawyers today at 630-409-8184 to set up a private consultation.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?ActID=2086&ChapterID=59&SeqStart=6000000&SeqEnd=8300000