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1     AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
5 Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 602 and 610 as
6 follows:
 
7     (750 ILCS 5/602)  (from Ch. 40, par. 602)
8     Sec. 602. Best Interest of Child.
9     (a) The court shall determine custody in accordance with
10 the best interest of the child. The court shall consider all
11 relevant factors including:
12         (1) the wishes of the child's parent or parents as to
13     his custody;
14         (2) the wishes of the child as to his custodian;
15         (3) the interaction and interrelationship of the child
16     with his parent or parents, his siblings and any other
17     person who may significantly affect the child's best
18     interest;
19         (4) the child's adjustment to his home, school and
20     community;
21         (5) the mental and physical health of all individuals
22     involved;
23         (6) the physical violence or threat of physical

 

 

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1     violence by the child's potential custodian, whether
2     directed against the child or directed against another
3     person;
4         (7) the occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as
5     defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence
6     Act of 1986, whether directed against the child or directed
7     against another person;
8         (8) the willingness and ability of each parent to
9     facilitate and encourage a close and continuing
10     relationship between the other parent and the child; and
11         (9) whether one of the parents is a sex offender; and .
12         (10) the terms of a parent's military family-care plan
13     that a parent must complete before deployment if a parent
14     is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is being
15     deployed.
16     In the case of a custody proceeding in which a stepparent
17 has standing under Section 601, it is presumed to be in the
18 best interest of the minor child that the natural parent have
19 the custody of the minor child unless the presumption is
20 rebutted by the stepparent.
21     (b) The court shall not consider conduct of a present or
22 proposed custodian that does not affect his relationship to the
23 child.
24     (c) Unless the court finds the occurrence of ongoing abuse
25 as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
26 of 1986, the court shall presume that the maximum involvement

 

 

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1 and cooperation of both parents regarding the physical, mental,
2 moral, and emotional well-being of their child is in the best
3 interest of the child. There shall be no presumption in favor
4 of or against joint custody.
5 (Source: P.A. 94-377, eff. 7-29-05; 94-643, eff. 1-1-06;
6 95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
7     (750 ILCS 5/610)  (from Ch. 40, par. 610)
8     Sec. 610. Modification.
9     (a) Unless by stipulation of the parties or except as
10 provided in subsection (a-5), no motion to modify a custody
11 judgment may be made earlier than 2 years after its date,
12 unless the court permits it to be made on the basis of
13 affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's present
14 environment may endanger seriously his physical, mental, moral
15 or emotional health.
16     (a-5) A motion to modify a custody judgment may be made at
17 any time by a party who has been informed of the existence of
18 facts requiring notice to be given under Section 609.5.
19     (b) The court shall not modify a prior custody judgment
20 unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence, upon the
21 basis of facts that have arisen since the prior judgment or
22 that were unknown to the court at the time of entry of the
23 prior judgment, that a change has occurred in the circumstances
24 of the child or his custodian, or in the case of a joint
25 custody arrangement that a change has occurred in the

 

 

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1 circumstances of the child or either or both parties having
2 custody, and that the modification is necessary to serve the
3 best interest of the child. The existence of facts requiring
4 notice to be given under Section 609.5 of this Act shall be
5 considered a change in circumstance. In the case of joint
6 custody, if the parties agree to a termination of a joint
7 custody arrangement, the court shall so terminate the joint
8 custody and make any modification which is in the child's best
9 interest. The court shall state in its decision specific
10 findings of fact in support of its modification or termination
11 of joint custody if either parent opposes the modification or
12 termination.
13     (c) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a
14 party seeking modification if the court finds that the
15 modification action is vexatious and constitutes harassment.
16     (d) Notice under this Section shall be given as provided in
17 subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.
18     (e) A party's absence, relocation, or failure to comply
19 with the court's orders on custody, visitation, or parenting
20 time may not, by itself, be sufficient to justify a
21 modification of a prior order if the reason for the absence,
22 relocation, or failure to comply is the party's deployment as a
23 member of the United States Armed Forces.
24 (Source: P.A. 94-643, eff. 1-1-06.)