More Info, COVID-19 & Cook County Family Law Cases

The Cook County Domestic Relations Division will not be conducting in-person court appearances until further notice, except as specifically ordered by the judge hearing your case. Most court business will be conducted electronically and/or telephonically.

As always, you must use e-filing during this period. You may visit the Clerk's Office for assistance with e-filing or to obtain a waiver of the e-filing requirement.

Below are some answers to common questions that may arise during this time based on the Cook County Domestic Relations Division administrative orders issued as a result of the pandemic. This Q&A is only meant for general guidance and is not a full explanation of all administrative orders entered in Districts 1-6. For complete copies of all COVID-19 related orders, please see the Court’s website: https://www.cookcountycourt.org

We hope that this information helps to answer some of your questions. Please feel free to contact our office at 312-588-3345 or office@nextsteplegalservices.com for a free consultation.

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

• You and the other parent should follow your regular parenting time schedule.
• Holidays that may fall during any pandemic-related school closures (e.g. Easter, Passover, Spring Break, etc.) should follow your regular holiday schedule, if you have one. If you do not have a holiday schedule, you should stick with your regular parenting time schedule.
• You and the other parent may always change the regular parenting time schedule if you both agree. It is always recommended that you put any changes in writing, as an effort to avoid confusion later. 
• The court reminds parents that any and all changes to regular parenting time schedules shall consider the child’s health and safety during this time. Unnecessary or discretional travel is strongly discouraged. 

I need to file an emergency motion. Can I?

• If you are experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence and do not currently have an Order of Protection, you can ask for an Emergency Order of Protection and have a judge hear your request either in-person or by Zoom.
• The order related to procedures for seeking an emergency order of protection as part of a Domestic Relations case is here: https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/21/2021_10%20AO%202020%20D%2020%20Amended.pdf?ver=HzyyhStvnqwT_u4sZkh1Uw%3d%3d
• Individuals may seek emergency orders of protection in person at 555 W. Harrison or by emailing the necessary documents and appearing by Zoom. The administrative orders related to seeking an independent emergency order of protection at 555 W. Harrison and procedures resulting from COVID-19 are here: https://www.cookcountycourt.org/ABOUT-THE-COURT/County-Department/Domestic-Violence
• Other types of emergency family law motions are being heard by Zoom. Emergency motions must be e-filed and notice must be sent to the other party as specified in the following administrative order:  https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/21/2021_10%20AO%202021%20D%203.pdf?ver=aDF7cWi1dVcuevO8FcEldw%3d%3d
• It is not always clear on what does and does not qualify as an emergency. We recommend that you contact a lawyer to assist you if you wish to file an emergency motion. 

I would like to file a non-emergency motion and set a court date to present the motion. How to I do that?

All motions must be e-filed, unless you receive an e-filing waiver at the courthouse. You can e-file at the courthouse if you need assistance. After e-filing your motion, the rest of the process depends on the "calendar" to which your case is assigned. 

Each judge is responsible for a "calendar" of cases. You can find which calendar your case is assigned to by looking your case up on the Clerk's Office's online docket, which is here: https://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/courtcasesearch/DocketSearch.aspx

You can find your judge's name and contact information on the court's Zoom list if you know your case's assigned calendar. The court's Zoom contact list is here:

https://www.cookcountycourt.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Fu49Z1_boW0%3d&portalid=0

Once you know which calendar your case is assigned to, review the following order and follow the required steps for your calendar: https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/21/2021_10%20AO%202020%20D%2013%20Amended.pdf?ver=lakq_WOyYkHF3H_lnhRdUw%3d%3d

Most judges require a court date to be set by the Clerk's Office as part of the e-filing process. If your calendar follows this requirement, then you need to e-file your motion, request a court date as the last step of the e-filing process, e-file a Notice of Motion stating the court date, time, and Zoom login information, and then send the filed motion and notice of motion to the other party (or to the party's attorney if there is one) and to the child's representative or GAL (if one has been appointed in your case).

If your case is on a calendar that does not require the Clerk's Office to set a court date, then you will need to email the filed motion to the other party (or the other party's attorney if there is one) and to the child's representative or GAL (if one has been appointed in your case) along with a copy of the administrative order (above). The other party will automatically get 21 days to respond, and you will have 7 days to reply if you want. After the 28 days for response and reply passes, you must email your motion, the other party's response, and your reply to the judge's clerk (see the Zoom contact list, above) and the other party (or the other party's attorney if there is one) and to the child's representative or GAL (if applicable)). You should receive an email from the judge's staff in a few days either providing a court order with the judge's decision or setting a date and time for you to appear on Zoom or in person for hearing on your motion.

If you choose to proceed without an attorney, please review the administrative order carefully at each stage of the process to make sure you are completing the steps as required.

Can I enter an Agreed Order or have a prove-up (final court date for divorce) in my case?

Yes. You can submit temporary agreed orders (e.g. temporary parenting time schedules), final agreed orders (e.g. Allocation Agreement), and conduct an oral prove up to finalize your divorce during this time, however, it is recommend that you contact a lawyer to assist you, as the process is different from when court is operating normally. Additionally, it is important to consult with an attorney because temporary orders can set a tone or pattern for your case that can be difficult to change and final orders will permanently determine your legal rights and obligations in most areas and can be difficult to change even in areas where modification is allowed (e.g. child support and parenting time).

The process for entering temporary and permanent agreed orders is set out in this court order:

https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/21/2021_10%20AO%202020%20D%2004%20Amended.pdf?ver=XrLX3cRWZA5FBLtBoPo0Zg%3d%3d

The process for finalizing divorces by agreement or by default, including conducting the prove up, is set out in this court order:

https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/21/2021_10%20AO%202020%20D%2010%20Amended.pdf?ver=Mmlv3my0cW2aG5oemTlpJA%3d%3d

I need to file an Appearance in my case, but I can’t afford it and was told to get a fee waiver from a judge. What do I do? 

• Fee waiver petitions (also called 298 petitions) must be e-filed. You can find a copy of the petition here: http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/Forms/pdf_files/WAP603.pdf.
• Click on the link to the right to view a brief instructional video about applying for a fee waiver.
•  E-file your fee waiver petition with your Appearance form (in other words, e-file both your Appearance and your fee waiver petition as part of the same e-filing "envelope" or submission).
• The Clerk's Office staff will send your fee waiver petition to the correct judge.
• You will receive an email with an order granting or denying your fee waiver petition. 
• If your petition is granted, you will need to save the order and e-file it along with every e-filing that would otherwise require a court fee. If your petition is denied, you will have 14 days to pay your court filing fee or your filing will be stricken and you could be held in default.

Most Cook County Domestic Relations court appearances are being conducted using Zoom. Unless a judge has specifically ordered otherwise in your case, or you see a notice to the contrary on the Cook County Court website, your should expect to appear for your court date on Zoom. The Cook County Court Zoom instructions are here: https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/SRL-Zoom_Instructions.pdf

The list of the judges' Zoom contact information is here: https://www.cookcountycourt.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Fu49Z1_boW0%3d&portalid=0

When participating in court on Zoom, you should:

• Keep your audio muted until your case is called
• Join with your video on
• Make sure that children involved in the case cannot hear what is happening 
• NOT record the Zoom session by any means

The Domestic Relations Division administrative order related to the conduct of Zoom court is here:

https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Portals/0/Domestic%20Relations%20Division/General%20Administrative%20Orders/Amended/8-20-20%20GO%2020%20D%2021.pdf?ver=XgMD9lpfAmmD8TVNJWUk1Q%3d%3d

Unless the judge instructs otherwise, either you or your opposing party will need to draft a proposed order stating the judge's decision for that court date. If there is an attorney involved in the case, the judge will usually ask the attorney to draft the proposed order. Whoever drafts the proposed order should send it to the other party (and the child's representative or GAL if there is one) for the other party's review and approval. The review process is to ensure that the proposed order accurately states what the judge decided. Once both parties agree that the order is accurate or a day or two has passed without a response from the reviewing party, the person who drafted the proposed order should email it to the judge's clerk at the email address included in the Zoom contact list (above) and copy the other party and the child's representative or GAL (if applicable) on the email. The court staff will process the proposed order, and you should receive a signed and stamped copy of the court order by email within a few days.

If you are currently representing yourself, it is important that you check your email (including your spam or junk folder) regularly during this time. Here are some examples of things that could happen based on the new procedures put in place in response to the COVID-19 crisis:

• The opposing party in your case could email you an emergency motion which will be presented the next day.
• The opposing party in your case could file an emergency motion without notice to you. As a result of that emergency motion, you might get an email from the court setting a hearing on the emergency motion by phone or videoconference on very short notice, or you might receive an email from the court with an order granting the motion that takes effect immediately.
• The opposing party in your case could email the court a proposed agreed order and the court might email you back the entered order. If you see an email from the opposing party saying something is agreed and you did not actually agree, you should reply to all the people included in the email from the opposing party, state your full name, and say that you do not agree with the order. You should not into detail about why you disagree.
• The opposing party in your case could email you a motion and you would be expected to file a response to the motion or file a request for an extension to respond within 21 days. If you don't file a response or request an extension within 21 days, the opposing party could email the court (and include you in the email) asking that the motion be decided by the judge without input from you. You could then receive an email from the court with an order granting the opposing party's motion.