Category: Order of Protection
8.28.24
Category: Order of Protection
Written by Jessica Mansbacher Kibbe on 7.17.25
When a parent is forced to seek legal protection from an abusive partner, whether that partner is a spouse, ex, or co-parent, questions about safety and survival come to the forefront. For many, especially those with children, financial concerns are as immediate and urgent as physical safety. If you are among those survivors, you may be asking, “If I file for an order of protection, can I also ask the court to order child support?”
The answer, under Illinois law, is yes. The Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) and The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) provide broad relief to protect victims of abuse, and that relief includes temporary child support, even when no divorce or parentage case has been filed.
In Illinois, the primary statute governing protective orders is the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, codified at 750 ILCS 60/101 et seq. This law is designed to protect individuals from abuse by family or household members and to provide immediate and meaningful relief.
Survivors typically begin by asking the Court for an Emergency Order of Protection (EOP). This can be granted the same day, even without notifying the Respondent, if there is an immediate danger. Once the Respondent has been served with the EOP, the parties will return to Court and the judge will decide whether the EOP should become a Plenary Order of Protection (POP). A POP will be granted after a full hearing with both parties present and can provide protection to the survivor that lasts up to two years (with possible extensions).
Under 750 ILCS 60/103(6), a petitioner can seek protection if they have been abused by a family or household member, which includes:
In Cook County, EOPs can be sought in-person at the Domestic Violence Courthouse located at 555 W. Harrison Street in Chicago, or remotely via Zoom. Legal aid organizations such as Ascend Justice can assist survivors with filing their petitions, and attorneys can file Petitions for Orders of Protection directly on behalf of their clients.
Under the IDVA, an OP can provide a broad range of relief, listed in 750 ILCS 60/214, including but not limited to:
750 ILCS 60/214(b)(12) explicitly authorizes a court to award temporary child support as part of an OP, so long as the Respondent already has a legal duty to support the child – meaning that the Respondent is the legal parent of the child. This support can be ordered even in the absence of a separate divorce or parentage proceeding, and the amount of support is calculated pursuant to the IMDMA.
A common misconception is that unmarried co-parents must file a separate parentage case before requesting child support. That is not true under the IDVA. As long as parentage is not disputed or has already been established, Domestic Violence courts can and do order temporary child support in protection orders involving unmarried parents.
The appellate decision in Martinez v. Leon sheds important light on this issue. In Martinez, the petitioner, a mother of one, filed for an EOP against the father of her child, citing repeated verbal abuse, stalking behavior, and physical intimidation. She requested, among other things:
While the trial court granted the protection and parenting time restrictions, it denied the request for child support, stating that the Domestic Violence Court could not enter an order for child support when no formal child support or parentage case had been filed in the Domestic Relations Division.
The First District Appellate Court disagreed, and it reversed the lower court’s holding. The Appellate Court held that the trial court misapplied the law by refusing to consider child support solely because no formal support case was pending in Domestic Relations Court. The court cited 750 ILCS 60/214(b)(12) and emphasized that the remedial purpose of the Domestic Violence Act is to provide swift, temporary relief, including financial assistance, for petitioners who need protection.
The appellate court noted that requiring a separate filing would delay relief and impose an undue burden on survivors, contrary to the statute’s intention.
The Appellate Court stated:
Three things are clear from this provision. First, even if the court entering the order of protection would not usually decide child-support issues, it still has the authority to do so when asked to include temporary child support as a remedy in an order of protection. Second, the court only has discretion not to decide “contested issues,” meaning that it is required to decide any uncontested issues involving temporary child support. Third, even when temporary child support is contested, the court must still decide the issue if necessary to protect the child from abuse, neglect, removal from the state, concealment, or separation.”
Martinez v. Leon, 2024 IL App (1st) 231058, ¶ 25.
Martinez confirms that:
This case sets clear precedent that can be cited by attorneys or petitioners when judges are reluctant to order financial support as part of n OP.
An OP offers temporary relief. For long-term financial security, petitioners may still need to:
It is advisable to consult with an experienced family law attorney in Chicago to coordinate these steps.
Illinois law provides relief for survivors of domestic violence that includes not just physical safety, but financial support for children shared with the abuser.
If you are considering filing a Petition for an Order of Protection in Cook County and you share a child with your abuser, know that you have the right to ask the court for child support. You do not need to be married. You do not need to have a pending family court case. And as the court made clear in Martinez v. Leon, judges must take those requests seriously.
If you or someone you love is facing this situation, speak to a trusted family law attorney from O. Long Law, LLC, today to ensure that you and your children can move forward with dignity, stability, and peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule your consultation with an attorney.
Category: Press Releases
5.22.19