COVID-19 & Cook County Family LAW Cases

Cook County Domestic Relations Division court appearances are occurring using Zoom, except when a judge specifically orders an in-person appearance. Most court business will be conducted by e-mail, videoconference, or telephone during this time.

For parenting time orders entered in Cook County, the following guidelines apply: 

1) COVID-19 school closure periods are not considered "days off from school", so regular parenting time schedules should be followed.

2) prioritize your children's safety; avoid unnecessary travel.

If you are experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence, you can obtain an emergency order of protection. If you have another type of family law emergency, emergency motions can be filed, but consider talking to an attorney first. Courts are strictly enforcing the definition of "emergency". Emergency motions must be e-filed and then notice sent by email as required in administrative order 2021 D 3.

 We recommend that you contact a lawyer to assist you with properly filing, noticing, and scheduling a motion during this time. Motions must be e-filed and then one of two procedures followed depending on the calendar to which your case is assigned. Most court dates for motions are scheduled as a part of e-filing, but some judges do not allow court dates to be set until after they have reviewed the motion and any response. This process is address in administrative order 2020 D 13 (as amended 10/28/21). 

Yes. You can submit agreed orders and conduct an oral prove up (finalize your divorce) in your case during this time, however, we recommend that you consult an attorney before proceeding. There are separate procedures for temporary agreed orders, final agreed orders, final divorce proceedings by agreement, and final divorce proceedings by default. 

Fee waiver petitions (also called 298 petitions) are being handled electronically. Your fee waiver petition needs to be e-filed, and then the Clerk's Office staff will send your request to the proper judge for review. The judge's review can take up to 7 days. After the judge makes a decision, the Clerk's Office will email the order to you (or mail it if you do not provide an email address). Be sure to leave extra time for the Clerk's Office to process and send you the fee waiver order.