There are 20 enumerated remedies available to a petitioner for an OP (the numbers in the statute only go up to 18 because two of them are numbered “.5” between two others). Each is covered below.
Prohibition of abuse
This provision relates back to the 5 types of abuse that a petitioner can show in their petition. The court can prohibit such abuse if it has occurred or “otherwise appears likely to occur if not prohibited.”
Grant of exclusive possession of residence; Prohibition of entry
750 ILCS 60/214(b)(2) and (14)
The court can prohibit the respondent from “entering or remaining” in any residence, household, or premises the petitioner has a right to occupy. This includes one owned or leased by respondent. (214)(b)(2).
The court can limit the prohibition to when 1) the respondent is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and 2) constitutes a threat to the safety and well-being of the petitioner or the petitioner's children. (214)(b)(14).
Practice tip: Exclusive possession is a common tool to help protect a Petitioner when they are not getting a “stay away order” (see the next section).
If both petitioner and respondent have the right to occupancy, the court must balance their relative hardships, including the hardships of any children in their care.
The balance of hardships is presumed to favor possession by petitioner. The presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence, showing that the hardships to respondent substantially outweigh the hardships to petitioner and any minor child or dependent adult in petitioner's care.
The court may also order respondent to provide suitable, accessible, alternate housing for petitioner instead of excluding respondent from a mutual residence.
Stay away order
The court can order the respondent to stay away from any protected person. It can also prohibit respondent from entering or remaining present at any specified place if the petitioner is present.
The court must balance the hardships if the respondent has a right to be there.
This section has extensive provisions for situations involving minors at school which are not addressed here.
Counseling
The court can require or recommend the respondent to undergo counseling for a specified duration.
It can also order the respondent in any intimate partner relationship to report to an Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) protocol approved partner abuse intervention program for an assessment and to follow all recommended treatment.
Practice tip: Note that this remedy is much more common in criminal cases than civil ones. One reason is that it will require monitoring of compliance which may be a burden to your client.
Physical care and possession of the minor child
The court may grant petitioner physical care or possession of the minor child, or both. It can also order respondent to return a minor child to, or not remove a minor child from, the physical care of a parent or person in loco parentis.
Temporary allocation of parental responsibilities
Parental responsibilities and parenting time are beyond the scope of this manual. See our Divorce and parental responsibilities manual.
Removal or concealment of minor child
The court can prohibit respondent from removing a minor child from the State or concealing the child within the State.
Order to appear
The court can order the respondent:
- To appear in court, alone or with a minor child, to prevent abuse, neglect, removal or concealment of the child,
- To return the child to the custody or care of the petitioner, or
- To permit any court-ordered interview or examination of the child or the respondent.
Possession/protection of personal property
750 ILCS 60/214(b)(10) and (11)
The court can grant exclusive possession of property. If respondent has possession, court can order them to turn it over. 214(b)(10).
Practice tip: One common type of personal property clients will need is their car.
The court can prohibit respondent from doing any of the following to the property:
- Taking,
- Transferring,
- Encumbering,
- Concealing,
- Damaging or
- Otherwise disposing. 214(b)(11).
In either case, the property must be owned solely by petitioner, or jointly. If jointly, the court must find:
- Sharing it would risk abuse of petitioner by respondent or is impracticable; and
- The balance of hardships favors temporary possession by petitioner.
If petitioner's sole claim to ownership of the property is that it is marital property, there must be a divorce case filed. However, in practice, this requirement if often waived by judges.
Title to the property is not affected by the OP.
Protection of animals
The court may grant petitioner…
- ...exclusive “care, custody, or control”
- ...of any animal “owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held”
- …by either the petitioner or the respondent
- ...or a minor child residing in the residence or household of either the petitioner or the respondent
- ...and order the respondent to
- ...stay away from the animal and
- ...forbid the respondent from taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, harming, or otherwise disposing of the animal.
Order for payment of support
The court may order respondent to pay temporary support for the petitioner or any child in the petitioner's care. Governed by the IMDMA.
Can be granted even if there is no order allocating significant decision-making responsibility yet.
Order for payment of losses
The court may order respondent to pay petitioner for losses suffered as a direct result of the abuse, including:
- Medical expenses,
- Lost earnings or other support,
- Repair or replacement of property damaged or taken,
- Attorney's fees,
- Court costs, and
- Moving or other travel expenses, including additional reasonable expenses for temporary shelter and restaurant meals.
The court may also grant actual losses as “appropriate temporary relief” under subsection (a)(3) of Section 501 of the IMDMA.
The court may order respondent to pay the reasonable expenses incurred or to be incurred in the search for and recovery of a minor child the respondent has concealed or removed. Includes legal fees, court costs, private investigator fees, and travel costs.
Prohibition of firearm possession
The court may order the respondent to turn over their Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card and order their firearms seized.
There must first be a hearing, actual notice to respondent, and opportunity to participate.
The order must prohibit respondent from:
- Harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner, or
- Engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child.
The order must also:
- Include a finding that respondent represents a credible threat to the physical safety of such intimate partner or child; or
- Prohibit the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against such intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury.
Note: According to the IL FOID statute, a FOID card is also revoked when an OP is entered. 430 ILCS 65/8.2
Prohibition of access to records
This prohibition relates to school or other records of a minor child in the care of petitioner. The court shall prohibit respondent from attempting to inspect or obtain these records if:
- The OP prohibits respondent from having contact with the minor child,
- Petitioner's address is omitted under 750 ILCS 60/203(b) (see below), or
- It is necessary to prevent abuse or wrongful removal or concealment of a minor child,
Order for payment of shelter services
The court may order respondent to reimburse a shelter providing temporary housing and counseling services to the petitioner. This is rarely used because many of the providers of these services do not charge a fee.
Order for injunctive relief
The court may enter injunctive relief necessary or appropriate to prevent further abuse of a family or household member. Must be supported by the balance of hardships.
If the harm to be prevented by the injunction is any of the prohibitions listed above (items 1 through 16 in the statute), no further evidence is necessary that the harm is an irreparable injury.
Practice tip: One common type of relief that is requested is to prohibit the respondent from sharing explicit photos of the petitioner (also known as “revenge porn”). Many clients do not know this is something they can ask for in the petition so counsel is encouraged to ask about it specifically during the interview.
Practice tip #2: If the client is worried about what might happen when the children are taken away from the respondent, you can include additional clarifying relief in this section, such as “The x county sheriff and/or local law enforcement is instructed to effectuate the return of [minor child] to the petitioner."
Telephone services
This provision allows a court to order that a wireless telephone provider transfer a phone number from the respondent to the petitioner or their child. The petitioner is financially responsible for the phone number and service. The wireless provider can still apply their normal requirements for establishing an account, like requiring proof of identification and financial information.
Part of the Legal Professionals library, sponsored by Quilling, Selander, Lownds, Winslett & Moser.
