What Are Temporary Orders in an Illinois Divorce?

 Posted on May 17, 2019 in Family Law

When you file for divorce, one spouse typically moves out of the marital home. Whether you are the one who stays or the one who moves out, you are likely to have several immediate concerns, including how to ensure that your spouse continues to help pay your family bills and how to manage co-parenting your children. Your lawyer can help you address these concerns by requesting temporary orders from the court, which remain in effect until the divorce becomes final.

What Types of Temporary Orders Can I Request in a Divorce?

Either spouse can petition the court for temporary orders addressing these issues:

• Paying family bills. If one spouse makes significantly less than the other and cannot immediately cover their personal living expenses, the other spouse will typically be ordered to make spousal maintenance payments.

• Paying attorney fees.

• Assigning possession of the marital home. The court may grant exclusive possession of the marital home to one spouse only when there is evidence that the well-being of either spouse or their children would be jeopardized by both spouses continuing to live in the home. A hearing is required for the court to decide if this is warranted. The temporary award of the home to one spouse does not affect either spouse’s property rights.

• Assigning sole or joint possession of pets.

• Handling child-related expenses. Typically one spouse takes primary custody of the children, and the other makes child support payments.

• Allocating parenting time. The court may order a temporary allocation of parental responsibilities either after a hearing or based on a parenting plan submitted by the parents.

• Restraining vengeful acts. The court can issue temporary restraining orders to:

• Prevent either spouse from selling, hiding, borrowing against, or otherwise depleting marital property except for necessary living expenses.

• Prevent anyone from removing a child from the jurisdiction of the court for more than 14 days.

• Protect one party from physical attack, harassment, or stalking by the other.

Child and spousal support requests must be accompanied by some basic documentation of the couple’s income and assets, such as income tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements.

Does a Temporary Order Influence Decisions About Final Divorce Orders?

Temporary orders should generally not influence subsequent decisions about the final divorce settlement. For example, just because one spouse is awarded a certain amount of maintenance, aka spousal support, on a temporary basis does not mean they will receive that amount in the final divorce order.

However, payments made under temporary orders will be considered to be distributions from the marital estate. When the final division of assets is determined, it may be adjusted by the amount of these interim payments.

Consult an Experienced DuPage Divorce Lawyer

If you reside in DuPage County, you must file for divorce in DuPage County. If you want to file for divorce but are concerned about issues such as child support, spousal support, child custody/visitation, or domestic violence, contact an experienced DuPage County divorce attorney. Call Mevorah & Giglio Law Offices at 630-932-9100 for a free initial consultation.