Legal Basics: What is a Court Order?

In court cases, you may have heard a judge or attorney refer to an “order,” or a situation where someone was “ordered” to do something. In family law court, an order is an official legal command requiring a person to do something, or not do something. Orders often come in the form of a document which is signed by the judge. The document is saved into the court system and into a specific case file. After this happens, the order is considered to be “entered,” meaning that it is an official legal document requiring certain actions of the parties, their attorneys, or creating other requirements related to the case.

Common Examples of Court Orders in an Illinois Family Law Case

The judge can enter an order making certain arrangements for the administrative or “housekeeping” aspects of the case:

An order continuing the case to another court date. This is perhaps the most common type of order that is entered in a family law case. It simply schedules the case to another future court date.
An order scheduling a hearing. When a motion or petition is filed, the person filing it generally has the right to have it heard. A “hearing” is a court date where a particular legal problem or issue is formally argued in front of the judge, and the judge makes a ruling or decision. When a hearing is scheduled, it is often documented in a court order, along with the date, time and the issue which will be addressed.
An order setting a deadline to exchange exhibits or disclose witnesses. These court orders become important if a case has been set for trial. If the court sets a deadline to exchange this information, and a party does not tender exhibits to the other side, or disclose who they will be calling as witnesses by that date, they could be prevented from submitting those exhibits or calling those witnesses at trial.

Here are some further examples of court orders and the effects they may have in a divorce or child custody case:

An order requiring one party to pay child support or spousal support to the other party. This type of court order is what officially requires the payment of child support in a child custody case, or spousal support in a divorce case. A separate order called an Order for Support is typically entered as well. In child support cases, another form called an Income Withholding for Support can be sent to the payor’s employer requiring that child support be directly withheld from his or her paychecks.
An order requiring the parties to submit financial documents by a certain date. This commonly occurs in a case where child support or spousal support are being requested. Exchanging financial documents allows the attorneys or the judge to run calculations for child support, spousal support, or determine how to split additional child expenses, or college expenses.
An order requiring the parties to appear in court on a certain date. In some circumstances, if a party is ordered to appear in court, and they fail to do so, the court could issue a warrant for that person’s arrest.
An order with a parenting time schedule, listing the days and times when each parent will spend time with their children. This type of court order is very important in child custody cases because it contains the actual schedule when parents will have their children.
An order requiring the sale of a house, or sale or transfer of other marital property. The court in a divorce case has jurisdiction over both spouses’ property, and in certain circumstances, can order that property be sold, or transferred between one spouse to the other. This can include funds, vehicles, real estate or even items at the home. If the court orders the parties to sell real estate property, the order can include certain details, such as a deadline to list the house for sale, and a requirement that the parties follow the recommendations of their realtor with regards to the listing price, repairs, or making the home ready for showing.
An order requiring a person to search for a job. This can occur in cases where a party is required to pay child support or spousal support. If such a person is unemployed, the court can order them to search for employment. This often comes with a requirement to apply for a certain number of jobs per week, and to keep a job search diary. A job search diary is a log which often includes the name of the company where the person applied, the job position for which they applied, the prospective pay rate, the date of the job application, contact information for someone at the company to confirm the job application, and an updated result of the job application (for example, whether or not a job interview occurred). The obligation to keep track of all of these details can be required by the court order.

What Happens When a Court Order is Not Followed

After a court order is entered, it becomes “enforceable.” This means that the court has the power to punish someone if they do not follow the terms of the order. This is referred to as being in “violation” of the order. If a party to the case refuses or fails to follow the terms of a court order, they can open themselves up to certain punishments or consequences, depending on what was required of them. The judge could find the party in “contempt,” which, in simplified terms, means that they are in trouble with the court.

Punishments for violating a court order can include, but are not limited to:

Paying monetary fines, or relinquishing certain property or funds
Paying interest on money which is owed and was not paid
Suspending a parent’s right to be around their child
Requiring that a parent be supervised by a third party when they are around their child

Punishments can also include jail time, though this is usually saved as a last resort for the most severe situations. A common reason jail time is ordered in family court is when a person repeatedly fails to pay money which they were previously ordered to pay, such as child support or spousal support.

In order to enforce a judgment, a Motion to Enforce or a Petition for Rule to Show Cause can be filed with the court. At some point, a hearing will be set to allow the violating party to have a chance to argue why they did not follow the terms of the order. If the other party cannot provide a good reason why he or she failed to follow the court order, they could face various penalties as described above.

Final Judgments

You may have also heard of the term “Judgment.” A judgment is a final court order which is often entered at the very end of a case, or which resolves the overall main issues in a disputed case. Some examples of judgments include a Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage, which finalizes a divorce by making a marital settlement agreement into an official court order, or an Allocation Judgment, which finalizes a custody case and makes a parenting plan into an official order. After a judgment for a marital settlement agreement or parenting plan is entered, both parties are required to follow the terms of the Judgment in the same way that they would be required to follow a court order.

Can a Court Order be Undone?

In very limited circumstances, some court orders can be reversed by the court, depending on the scenario. After a court order is entered, a party may decide to file a Motion to Reconsider within 30 days after the entry of the order, and ask that the court order be cancelled or “vacated.” This can only be requested in very limited circumstances. The court does not want to give people the opportunity to undo court orders at any time that they choose. Some examples of why a court order might be reversed could include:

New information has come to light which was not available at the time the court order was entered.
The court incorrectly applied the law to the facts of the case.
It was discovered that one of the parties committed fraud or lied during a court hearing in a way which directly affected the ruling of the judge.

Whether or not a court order can be reversed depends on the specific facts of each case.

Court orders provide structure and direction to a family law case, as well as the final ruling and terms which the parties must follow.

If you are having legal issues with your current case, or the party on the other side is refusing to follow a court order or judgment, call (815) 207-9570 to book a consultation with an experienced family law attorney. Attorney Michael Navarro has over ten years of experience representing clients in Will County, DuPage County, and Kendall County cases.