Get Emergency Motion

An emergency custody order temporarily awards custody—called parenting time and parental responsibilities in Illinois—to one parent if the court believes the child's well-being is at risk. It is not an order of protection and will not restrict the other parent's access to see their child.

To qualify as an “emergency,” a motion must arise from an unforeseen circumstance that requires immediate action to avoid serious or irreparable harm to one or more of the parties.

The emergency motion must show (1) how and why the giving of notice would accelerate or precipitate the injury or (2) that the time required to notice a hearing would actually permit the threatened irreparable injury to occur.

What are Grounds for Emergency Custody in Illinois? Your child's life, health, and safety are threatened. These motions should be filed when you genuinely, reasonably feel your child's life or health is threatened. It's an emergency situation, not one you're vaguely uncomfortable with because of a possibility of harm.

What Is an Emergency Motion? A legal “motion” is when one person asks the court to take action on a matter. An emergency motion for parental allocation is a request to change a parenting plan immediately, often to grant one parent sole allocation.

An Emergency Motion shall be labeled as such and shall be heard only if the Court first determines that an emergency exists and that reasonable attempts at notice have been made. Any emergency motion shall be verified and state the nature of the emergency as well as when the emergency arose.

This means that a court proceeding will take place before a judge without the presence of the opposing party. An emergency hearing involves presenting evidence to a judge who will make a decision on the matter, in this case timesharing and custody.