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Court Order

Please note that the legal information presented on this page is written for those living in the state of Illinois.

What Does it Mean?

A court order is a written document issued by a judge in court. 

How Does it Work?

Court orders are given to both parties to a court case – the petitioner and the respondent – each time your case is heard in front of a judge. Each court order describes what took place in court that day, and typically requires one or both parties to do or not do something.

For example, a child support order is a legally-binding court order that requires a minor child's parent to make payments on a regular basis.   

Things You Should Know

Failure to follow a court order may result in serious financial or legal penalties. This is called being in contempt of court.

When getting help from an attorney, it is important that you have the most recent court order from your case (if you have already been to court). This will allow the attorney to better understand your current legal needs.

Additionally, each court order is accompanied by a docket number. Knowing this number will also help an attorney find the most relevant information about your case.

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