102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3484

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Denyse Stoneback

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
750 ILCS 5/501  from Ch. 40, par. 501

    Amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act. Allows either party to petition or move for an allowance from the other party for a retainer fee to obtain an attorney, accompanied by a financial affidavit that is supported by documentary evidence, and a certificate stating that if an allowance is granted, the party shall only use it for retaining an attorney. Provides that the court shall review the financial affidavit and, if appropriate, grant an allowance to the party for a retainer fee.


LRB102 13864 LNS 19215 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3484LRB102 13864 LNS 19215 b

1    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
5Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 501 as follows:
 
6    (750 ILCS 5/501)  (from Ch. 40, par. 501)
7    Sec. 501. Temporary relief. In all proceedings under this
8Act, temporary relief shall be as follows:
9    (a) Either party may petition or move for:
10        (1) temporary maintenance or temporary support of a
11    child of the marriage entitled to support, accompanied by
12    an affidavit as to the factual basis for the relief
13    requested. One form of financial affidavit, as determined
14    by the Supreme Court, shall be used statewide. The
15    financial affidavit shall be supported by documentary
16    evidence including, but not limited to, income tax
17    returns, pay stubs, and banking statements. Unless the
18    court otherwise directs, any affidavit or supporting
19    documentary evidence submitted pursuant to this paragraph
20    shall not be made part of the public record of the
21    proceedings but shall be available to the court or an
22    appellate court in which the proceedings are subject to
23    review, to the parties, their attorneys, and such other

 

 

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1    persons as the court may direct. Upon motion of a party, a
2    court may hold a hearing to determine whether and why
3    there is a disparity between a party's sworn affidavit and
4    the supporting documentation. If a party intentionally or
5    recklessly files an inaccurate or misleading financial
6    affidavit, the court shall impose significant penalties
7    and sanctions including, but not limited to, costs and
8    attorney's fees;
9        (2) a temporary restraining order or preliminary
10    injunction, accompanied by affidavit showing a factual
11    basis for any of the following relief:
12            (i) restraining any person from transferring,
13        encumbering, concealing or otherwise disposing of any
14        property except in the usual course of business or for
15        the necessities of life, and, if so restrained,
16        requiring him to notify the moving party and his
17        attorney of any proposed extraordinary expenditures
18        made after the order is issued; however, an order need
19        not include an exception for transferring,
20        encumbering, or otherwise disposing of property in the
21        usual course of business or for the necessities of
22        life if the court enters appropriate orders that
23        enable the parties to pay their necessary personal and
24        business expenses including, but not limited to,
25        appropriate professionals to assist the court pursuant
26        to subsection (l) of Section 503 to administer the

 

 

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1        payment and accounting of such living and business
2        expenses;
3            (ii) enjoining a party from removing a child from
4        the jurisdiction of the court for more than 14 days;
5            (iii) enjoining a party from striking or
6        interfering with the personal liberty of the other
7        party or of any child; or
8            (iv) providing other injunctive relief proper in
9        the circumstances; or
10        (2.5) an allowance from the other party for a retainer
11    fee to obtain an attorney. The petition shall be
12    accompanied by a financial affidavit that is supported by
13    documentary evidence, and a certificate stating that if an
14    allowance is granted, the party shall only use it for
15    retaining an attorney. The court shall review the
16    financial affidavit and, if appropriate, grant an
17    allowance to the party for a retainer fee; or
18        (3) other appropriate temporary relief including, in
19    the discretion of the court, ordering the purchase or sale
20    of assets and requiring that a party or parties borrow
21    funds in the appropriate circumstances.
22    Issues concerning temporary maintenance or temporary
23support of a child entitled to support shall be dealt with on a
24summary basis based on allocated parenting time, financial
25affidavits, tax returns, pay stubs, banking statements, and
26other relevant documentation, except an evidentiary hearing

 

 

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1may be held upon a showing of good cause. If a party
2intentionally or recklessly files an inaccurate or misleading
3financial affidavit, the court shall impose significant
4penalties and sanctions including, but not limited to, costs
5and attorney's fees resulting from the improper
6representation.
7    (b) The court may issue a temporary restraining order
8without requiring notice to the other party only if it finds,
9on the basis of the moving affidavit or other evidence, that
10irreparable injury will result to the moving party if no order
11is issued until the time for responding has elapsed.
12    (c) A response hereunder may be filed within 21 days after
13service of notice of motion or at the time specified in the
14temporary restraining order.
15    (c-1) As used in this subsection (c-1), "interim
16attorney's fees and costs" means attorney's fees and costs
17assessed from time to time while a case is pending, in favor of
18the petitioning party's current counsel, for reasonable fees
19and costs either already incurred or to be incurred, and
20"interim award" means an award of interim attorney's fees and
21costs. Interim awards shall be governed by the following:
22        (1) Except for good cause shown, a proceeding for (or
23    relating to) interim attorney's fees and costs in a
24    pre-judgment dissolution proceeding shall be
25    nonevidentiary and summary in nature. All hearings for or
26    relating to interim attorney's fees and costs under this

 

 

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1    subsection shall be scheduled expeditiously by the court.
2    When a party files a petition for interim attorney's fees
3    and costs supported by one or more affidavits that
4    delineate relevant factors, the court (or a hearing
5    officer) shall assess an interim award after affording the
6    opposing party a reasonable opportunity to file a
7    responsive pleading. A responsive pleading shall set out
8    the amount of each retainer or other payment or payments,
9    or both, previously paid to the responding party's counsel
10    by or on behalf of the responding party. A responsive
11    pleading shall include costs incurred, and shall indicate
12    whether the costs are paid or unpaid. In assessing an
13    interim award, the court shall consider all relevant
14    factors, as presented, that appear reasonable and
15    necessary, including to the extent applicable:
16            (A) the income and property of each party,
17        including alleged marital property within the sole
18        control of one party and alleged non-marital property
19        within access to a party;
20            (B) the needs of each party;
21            (C) the realistic earning capacity of each party;
22            (D) any impairment to present earning capacity of
23        either party, including age and physical and emotional
24        health;
25            (E) the standard of living established during the
26        marriage;

 

 

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1            (F) the degree of complexity of the issues,
2        including allocation of parental responsibility,
3        valuation or division (or both) of closely held
4        businesses, and tax planning, as well as reasonable
5        needs for expert investigations or expert witnesses,
6        or both;
7            (G) each party's access to relevant information;
8            (H) the amount of the payment or payments made or
9        reasonably expected to be made to the attorney for the
10        other party; and
11            (I) any other factor that the court expressly
12        finds to be just and equitable.
13        (2) Any assessment of an interim award (including one
14    pursuant to an agreed order) shall be without prejudice to
15    any final allocation and without prejudice as to any claim
16    or right of either party or any counsel of record at the
17    time of the award. Any such claim or right may be presented
18    by the appropriate party or counsel at a hearing on
19    contribution under subsection (j) of Section 503 or a
20    hearing on counsel's fees under subsection (c) of Section
21    508. Unless otherwise ordered by the court at the final
22    hearing between the parties or in a hearing under
23    subsection (j) of Section 503 or subsection (c) of Section
24    508, interim awards, as well as the aggregate of all other
25    payments by each party to counsel and related payments to
26    third parties, shall be deemed to have been advances from

 

 

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1    the parties' marital estate. Any portion of any interim
2    award constituting an overpayment shall be remitted back
3    to the appropriate party or parties, or, alternatively, to
4    successor counsel, as the court determines and directs,
5    after notice in a form designated by the Supreme Court. An
6    order for the award of interim attorney's fees shall be a
7    standardized form order and labeled "Interim Fee Award
8    Order".
9        (3) In any proceeding under this subsection (c-1), the
10    court (or hearing officer) shall assess an interim award
11    against an opposing party in an amount necessary to enable
12    the petitioning party to participate adequately in the
13    litigation, upon findings that the party from whom
14    attorney's fees and costs are sought has the financial
15    ability to pay reasonable amounts and that the party
16    seeking attorney's fees and costs lacks sufficient access
17    to assets or income to pay reasonable amounts. In
18    determining an award, the court shall consider whether
19    adequate participation in the litigation requires
20    expenditure of more fees and costs for a party that is not
21    in control of assets or relevant information. Except for
22    good cause shown, an interim award shall not be less than
23    payments made or reasonably expected to be made to the
24    counsel for the other party. If the court finds that both
25    parties lack financial ability or access to assets or
26    income for reasonable attorney's fees and costs, the court

 

 

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1    (or hearing officer) shall enter an order that allocates
2    available funds for each party's counsel, including
3    retainers or interim payments, or both, previously paid,
4    in a manner that achieves substantial parity between the
5    parties.
6        (4) The changes to this Section 501 made by this
7    amendatory Act of 1996 apply to cases pending on or after
8    June 1, 1997, except as otherwise provided in Section 508.
9    (c-2) Allocation of use of marital residence. Where there
10is on file a verified complaint or verified petition seeking
11temporary eviction from the marital residence, the court may,
12during the pendency of the proceeding, only in cases where the
13physical or mental well-being of either spouse or his or her
14children is jeopardized by occupancy of the marital residence
15by both spouses, and only upon due notice and full hearing,
16unless waived by the court on good cause shown, enter orders
17granting the exclusive possession of the marital residence to
18either spouse, by eviction from, or restoration of, the
19marital residence, until the final determination of the cause
20pursuant to the factors listed in Section 602.7 of this Act. No
21such order shall in any manner affect any estate in homestead
22property of either party. In entering orders under this
23subsection (c-2), the court shall balance hardships to the
24parties.
25    (d) A temporary order entered under this Section:
26        (1) does not prejudice the rights of the parties or

 

 

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1    the child which are to be adjudicated at subsequent
2    hearings in the proceeding;
3        (2) may be revoked or modified before final judgment,
4    on a showing by affidavit and upon hearing; and
5        (3) terminates when the final judgment is entered or
6    when the petition for dissolution of marriage or legal
7    separation or declaration of invalidity of marriage is
8    dismissed.
9    (e) The fees or costs of mediation shall be borne by the
10parties and may be assessed by the court as it deems equitable
11without prejudice and are subject to reallocation at the
12conclusion of the case.
13    (f) Companion animals. Either party may petition or move
14for the temporary allocation of sole or joint possession of
15and responsibility for a companion animal jointly owned by the
16parties. In issuing an order under this subsection, the court
17shall take into consideration the well-being of the companion
18animal. As used in this Section, "companion animal" does not
19include a service animal as defined in Section 2.01c of the
20Humane Care for Animals Act.
21(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763, eff. 1-1-17;
22100-422, eff. 1-1-18.)