Full Text of SB0098 94th General Assembly
SB0098eng 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of | 5 |
| Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 601, 602, 602.1, | 6 |
| 604, 604.5, 605, and 607 as follows:
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| (750 ILCS 5/601) (from Ch. 40, par. 601)
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| Sec. 601. Jurisdiction; Commencement of Proceeding.
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| (a) A court of this State competent to decide child custody | 10 |
| matters has
jurisdiction to make a child custody determination | 11 |
| in original or modification
proceedings as provided in Section | 12 |
| 201 of the Uniform
Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement | 13 |
| Act as
adopted by this State.
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| (b) A child custody proceeding is commenced in the court:
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| (1) by a parent, by filing a petition:
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| (i) for dissolution of marriage or legal | 17 |
| separation or declaration
of invalidity of marriage; | 18 |
| or
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| (ii) for custody of the child, in the county in | 20 |
| which he is
permanently resident or found;
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| (2) by a person other than a parent, by filing a | 22 |
| petition for
custody of the child in the county in which he | 23 |
| is permanently resident
or found, but only if he is not in | 24 |
| the physical custody of one of his
parents; or
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| (3) by a stepparent, by filing a petition, if all of | 26 |
| the following
circumstances are met:
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| (A) the child is at least 12 years old;
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| (B) the custodial parent and stepparent were | 29 |
| married for at least 5
years during which the child | 30 |
| resided with the parent and stepparent;
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| (C) the custodial parent is deceased or is disabled | 32 |
| and cannot perform
the duties of a parent to the child;
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| (D) the stepparent provided for the care, control, | 2 |
| and welfare to the
child prior to the initiation of | 3 |
| custody proceedings;
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| (E) the child wishes to live with the stepparent; | 5 |
| and
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| (F) it is alleged to be in the best interests and | 7 |
| welfare of the
child to live with the stepparent as | 8 |
| provided in Section 602 of this Act. | 9 |
| (4) When one of the parents is deceased, by a | 10 |
| grandparent who is a parent or stepparent of a deceased | 11 |
| parent, by filing a petition, if one or more of the | 12 |
| following existed at the time of the parent's death: | 13 |
| (A) the surviving parent had been absent from the | 14 |
| marital abode for more than one month without the | 15 |
| deceased spouse knowing his or her whereabouts; | 16 |
| (B) the surviving parent was in State or federal | 17 |
| custody; or | 18 |
| (C) the surviving parent had: (i) received | 19 |
| supervision for or been convicted of any violation of | 20 |
| Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961 directed | 21 |
| towards the deceased parent or the child; or (ii) | 22 |
| received supervision or been convicted of violating an | 23 |
| order of protection entered under Section 217, 218, or | 24 |
| 219 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 for | 25 |
| the protection of the deceased parent or the child.
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| (c) Notice of a child custody proceeding, including an | 27 |
| action
for modification of a previous custody order, shall be | 28 |
| given to the
child's parents, guardian and custodian, who may | 29 |
| appear, be heard, and
file a responsive pleading. The court, | 30 |
| upon showing of good cause, may
permit intervention of other | 31 |
| interested parties.
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| (d) Proceedings for modification of a previous custody | 33 |
| order
commenced more than 30 days following the entry of a | 34 |
| previous custody order
must be initiated by serving a written | 35 |
| notice and a copy of the petition
for modification upon the | 36 |
| child's parent, guardian and custodian at least
30 days prior |
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| to hearing on the petition. Nothing in this Section shall
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| preclude a party in custody modification proceedings from | 3 |
| moving for a
temporary order under Section 603 of this Act.
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| (e) (Blank). | 5 |
| (f) The court shall, at the court's discretion or upon the | 6 |
| request of any party entitled to petition for custody of the | 7 |
| child, appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the best | 8 |
| interest of the child for the duration of the custody | 9 |
| proceeding or for any modifications of any custody orders | 10 |
| entered. The guardian ad litem shall have completed 3 hours of | 11 |
| training that relates to the functions and duties of a guardian | 12 |
| ad litem and that includes training on the dynamics of domestic | 13 |
| violence on partners and children. The guardian ad litem shall | 14 |
| investigate whether there is evidence that either partner | 15 |
| engaged in domestic violence and shall report to the court on | 16 |
| the results of the investigation. Nothing in this Section shall | 17 |
| be construed to prevent the court from appointing the same | 18 |
| guardian ad litem for 2 or more children that are siblings or | 19 |
| half-siblings.
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| (Source: P.A. 93-108, eff. 1-1-04; 93-1026, eff. 1-1-05.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/602) (from Ch. 40, par. 602)
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| Sec. 602. Best Interest of Child.
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| (a) The court shall determine
custody in accordance with | 24 |
| the best interest of the child. The court
shall consider all | 25 |
| relevant factors including:
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| (1) the wishes of the child's parent or parents as to | 27 |
| his custody;
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| (2) the wishes of the child as to his custodian;
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| (3) the interaction and interrelationship of the child | 30 |
| with his
parent or parents, his siblings and any other | 31 |
| person who may
significantly affect the child's best | 32 |
| interest;
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| (4) the child's adjustment to his home, school and | 34 |
| community;
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| (5) the mental and physical health of all individuals |
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| involved;
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| (6) the physical violence or threat of physical | 3 |
| violence by the child's
potential custodian, whether | 4 |
| directed against the child or directed against
another | 5 |
| person;
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| (7) the occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as | 7 |
| defined in Section 103 of the
Illinois Domestic Violence | 8 |
| Act of 1986, whether directed against the child
or directed | 9 |
| against another person; and
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| (8) the willingness and ability of each parent to | 11 |
| facilitate and
encourage a close and continuing | 12 |
| relationship between the other parent
and the child.
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| In the case of a custody proceeding in which a stepparent | 14 |
| has standing
under Section 601, it is presumed to be in the | 15 |
| best interest of the minor child
that the natural parent have | 16 |
| the custody of the minor child unless the
presumption is | 17 |
| rebutted by the stepparent.
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| (a-3) In any determination of custody where the court hears | 19 |
| evidence concerning item (6) or (7) of subsection (a) of this | 20 |
| Section, the court shall state in writing the reason that the | 21 |
| court determined that legal custody with that party is in the | 22 |
| best interest of the child. | 23 |
| (b) The court shall not consider conduct of a present or | 24 |
| proposed
custodian that does not affect his relationship to the | 25 |
| child.
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| (c) Unless the court finds the occurrence of ongoing abuse | 27 |
| as defined
in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act | 28 |
| of 1986, the court
shall presume that the maximum involvement | 29 |
| and cooperation
of both parents regarding the physical, mental, | 30 |
| moral, and emotional
well-being of
their child is in the best | 31 |
| interest of the child. There shall be no
presumption in favor | 32 |
| of or against joint custody.
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| (Source: P.A. 90-782, eff. 8-14-98.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/602.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 602.1)
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| Sec. 602.1. (a) The dissolution of marriage, the |
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| declaration of
invalidity of marriage, the legal separation of | 2 |
| the parents, or the parents
living separate and apart shall not | 3 |
| diminish parental powers, rights, and
responsibilities except | 4 |
| as the court for good reason may determine under
the standards | 5 |
| of Section 602.
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| (b) Upon the application of either or both parents, or upon | 7 |
| its own motion,
the court shall consider an award of joint | 8 |
| custody. Joint custody means
custody determined pursuant to a | 9 |
| Joint Parenting Agreement or a Joint Parenting
Order. In such | 10 |
| cases, the court shall initially request the parents to produce
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| a Joint Parenting Agreement. Such Agreement shall specify each | 12 |
| parent's
powers, rights and responsibilities for the personal | 13 |
| care of the child and
for major decisions such as education, | 14 |
| health care, and religious training.
The Agreement shall | 15 |
| further specify a procedure by which proposed changes,
disputes | 16 |
| and alleged breaches may be mediated or otherwise resolved and
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| shall provide for a periodic review of its terms by the | 18 |
| parents. In
producing a Joint Parenting Agreement, the parents | 19 |
| shall be flexible in
arriving at resolutions which further the | 20 |
| policy of this State as expressed
in Sections 102 and 602. For | 21 |
| the purpose of assisting the court in making
a determination | 22 |
| whether an award of joint custody is appropriate, the court
may | 23 |
| order mediation and may direct that an investigation be | 24 |
| conducted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 605. If there | 25 |
| is a danger to the health or safety of a partner, joint | 26 |
| mediation shall not be required by the court. In the event the | 27 |
| parents fail
to produce a Joint Parenting Agreement, the court | 28 |
| may enter an appropriate
Joint Parenting Order under the | 29 |
| standards of Section 602 which shall
specify and contain the | 30 |
| same elements as a Joint Parenting Agreement, or it
may award | 31 |
| sole custody under the standards of Sections 602, 607, and 608.
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| (c) The court may enter an order of joint custody if it | 33 |
| determines
that joint custody would be in the best interests of | 34 |
| the child, taking into
account the following:
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| (1) the ability of the parents to cooperate effectively | 36 |
| and
consistently in matters that directly affect the joint |
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| parenting of the child.
"Ability of the parents
to | 2 |
| cooperate" means the parents' capacity to substantially | 3 |
| comply with a Joint
Parenting Order. The court shall not | 4 |
| consider the inability of the parents to
cooperate | 5 |
| effectively and consistently in matters that do not | 6 |
| directly affect
the joint parenting of the child;
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| (2) The residential circumstances of each parent; and
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| (3) all other factors which may be relevant to the best | 9 |
| interest of the
child.
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| (c-3) In any determination of joint custody where the court | 11 |
| hears evidence concerning physical violence or threat of | 12 |
| physical violence by the child's
potential custodian or the | 13 |
| occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as defined in Section | 14 |
| 103 of the
Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, whether | 15 |
| directed against the child
or directed against another person, | 16 |
| the court shall state in writing the reason that the court | 17 |
| determined that joint custody with that party is in the best | 18 |
| interest of the child. | 19 |
| (d) Nothing within this section shall imply or presume that | 20 |
| joint
custody shall necessarily mean equal parenting time. The | 21 |
| physical
residence of the child in joint custodial situations | 22 |
| shall be determined by:
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| (1) express agreement of the parties; or
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| (2) order of the court under the standards of this | 25 |
| Section.
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| (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, access to | 27 |
| records and
information pertaining to a child, including but | 28 |
| not limited to medical,
dental, child care and school records, | 29 |
| shall not be denied to a parent for
the reason that such parent | 30 |
| is not the child's custodial parent; however,
no parent shall | 31 |
| have access to the school records of a child if the parent
is | 32 |
| prohibited by an order of protection from inspecting or | 33 |
| obtaining such
records pursuant to the Illinois Domestic | 34 |
| Violence Act of 1986, as now or
hereafter amended.
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| (Source: P.A. 88-409.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/604) (from Ch. 40, par. 604)
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| Sec. 604. Interviews.) (a) The court may interview the | 3 |
| child in chambers
to ascertain the child's wishes as to his | 4 |
| custodian and as to visitation.
Counsel shall be present at the | 5 |
| interview unless otherwise agreed upon by
the parties. The | 6 |
| court shall cause a court reporter to be present who shall
make | 7 |
| a complete record of the interview instantaneously to be part | 8 |
| of the
record in the case.
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| (b) The court may seek the advice of professional | 10 |
| personnel, whether or
not employed by the court on a regular | 11 |
| basis. The professional personnel must have completed 3 hours | 12 |
| of training in domestic violence and its effects on the partner | 13 |
| and the child. The advice given shall be
in writing and made | 14 |
| available by the court to counsel. Counsel may examine,
as a | 15 |
| witness, any professional personnel consulted by the court, | 16 |
| designated
as a court's witness.
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| (Source: P.A. 80-923.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/604.5)
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| Sec. 604.5. Evaluation of child's best interest.
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| (a) In a proceeding for custody, visitation, or removal of | 21 |
| a child from
Illinois, upon notice
and motion made within a | 22 |
| reasonable time before trial, the court may order an
evaluation | 23 |
| concerning the best interest of the child as it relates to | 24 |
| custody,
visitation, or removal. All evaluators must have | 25 |
| completed 3 hours of training in domestic violence and its | 26 |
| effects on the partner and the child. The motion may be made by | 27 |
| a party, a parent, the
child's
custodian, the attorney for the | 28 |
| child, the child's guardian ad litem, or the
child's | 29 |
| representative. The requested evaluation may be in place of or | 30 |
| in
addition to an evaluation conducted under subsection (b) of | 31 |
| Section 604.
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| The
motion shall state the identity of the proposed | 33 |
| evaluator and set forth the
evaluator's specialty or | 34 |
| discipline. The court may refuse to
order an evaluation by the | 35 |
| proposed evaluator, but in that event, the court may
permit the |
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| party seeking the evaluation to propose one or more other
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| evaluators.
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| (b) An order for an evaluation shall fix the time, place, | 4 |
| conditions, and
scope of the evaluation and shall designate the | 5 |
| evaluator.
A party or person shall not be required to travel an | 6 |
| unreasonable distance for
the evaluation.
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| (c) The person requesting an evaluator shall pay the fee | 8 |
| for the evaluation
unless otherwise ordered by the court.
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| (d) Within 21 days after the completion of the evaluation, | 10 |
| if the moving
party or person intends to call the evaluator as | 11 |
| a witness, the evaluator shall
prepare and mail or deliver to | 12 |
| the attorneys of record duplicate originals of
the written | 13 |
| evaluation. The evaluation shall set forth the evaluator's
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| findings, the results
of all tests administered, and the | 15 |
| evaluator's conclusions and recommendations.
If
the
written | 16 |
| evaluation is not delivered or mailed to the attorneys within | 17 |
| 21 days
or within any extensions or modifications granted by | 18 |
| the court, the written
evaluation and the evaluator's | 19 |
| testimony, conclusions, and recommendations may
not be | 20 |
| received into evidence.
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| (e) The person calling an evaluator to testify at trial
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| shall
disclose the evaluator as an opinion
witness in | 23 |
| accordance with the Supreme Court Rules.
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| (f) Subject to compliance with the Supreme
Court Rules, | 25 |
| nothing in this Section bars a person who did not request the
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| evaluation from calling the evaluator as a witness. In that | 27 |
| case, however,
that person shall
pay the evaluator's fee for | 28 |
| testifying unless otherwise ordered by the
court.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-746, eff. 6-2-00.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/605) (from Ch. 40, par. 605)
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| Sec. 605. Investigations and Reports. (a) In contested | 32 |
| custody proceedings,
and in other custody proceedings if a | 33 |
| parent or the child's custodian so
requests, the court may | 34 |
| order an investigation and report concerning custodial
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| arrangements for the child. The investigation and report may be |
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| made by
a child welfare agency approved by the Department of | 2 |
| Children and
Family Services, but shall not be made by that | 3 |
| Department
unless the court determines either that there is no | 4 |
| child welfare agency
available or that the parent or the | 5 |
| child's custodian is financially unable
to pay for the | 6 |
| investigation or report.
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| (b) An investigator who makes a report to the court must | 8 |
| have completed 3 hours of training in domestic violence and its | 9 |
| effects on the partner and the child. In preparing his report | 10 |
| concerning a child, the investigator may consult
any person who | 11 |
| may have information about the child and his potential | 12 |
| custodial
arrangements. Under order of the court, the | 13 |
| investigator may refer the child
to professional personnel for | 14 |
| diagnosis. The investigator may consult with
and obtain | 15 |
| information from medical, psychiatric or other expert persons
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| who have served the child in the past, without obtaining the | 17 |
| consent of
the parent or the child's custodian. The child's | 18 |
| consent must be obtained if
he has reached the age of 16, | 19 |
| unless the court finds that he lacks mental
capacity to | 20 |
| consent.
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| (c) The investigator shall mail the report to counsel, and | 22 |
| to any party
not represented by counsel, at least 10 days prior | 23 |
| to the hearing. The court
may examine and consider the | 24 |
| investigator's report
in determining custody. The investigator | 25 |
| shall make available to counsel,
and to any party not | 26 |
| represented by counsel, the investigator's file of
underlying | 27 |
| data, reports, and the complete texts of diagnostic reports
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| made to the investigator pursuant to the provisions of | 29 |
| subsection (b) of
this Section, and the names and addresses of | 30 |
| all persons whom the
investigator has consulted. Any party to | 31 |
| the proceeding may call the
investigator, or any person whom he | 32 |
| has consulted, as a court's witness,
for cross-examination. A | 33 |
| party may not waive his right of cross-examination
prior to the | 34 |
| hearing.
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| (Source: P.A. 86-659.)
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| (750 ILCS 5/607) (from Ch. 40, par. 607)
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| Sec. 607. Visitation.
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| (a) A parent not granted custody of the child
is entitled | 4 |
| to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds,
after a | 5 |
| hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child's
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| physical, mental, moral or emotional health. If the custodian's | 7 |
| street
address is not identified, pursuant to Section 708, the | 8 |
| court shall require
the parties to identify reasonable | 9 |
| alternative arrangements for visitation
by a non-custodial | 10 |
| parent, including but not limited to visitation of the
minor | 11 |
| child at the residence of another person or at a local public | 12 |
| or
private facility.
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| (a-3) Nothing in subsection (a-5) of this Section shall | 14 |
| apply to a child in whose interests a petition under Section | 15 |
| 2-13 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is pending. | 16 |
| (a-5)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection | 17 |
| (a-5), any grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling may file | 18 |
| a
petition for
visitation rights to a minor child if there is | 19 |
| an unreasonable denial of visitation by a parent and at least | 20 |
| one
of the
following conditions exists: | 21 |
| (A) one parent of the child is incompetent as a matter | 22 |
| of law or deceased or has been sentenced to a period of | 23 |
| imprisonment for more than 1 year; | 24 |
| (B) the child's mother and father are divorced or have | 25 |
| been legally separated from
each other during the 3 month | 26 |
| period prior to the filing of the petition and at least one | 27 |
| parent does not object to the grandparent, | 28 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling having visitation with the | 29 |
| child. The visitation of the grandparent, | 30 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling must not diminish the | 31 |
| visitation of the parent who is not related to the | 32 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling seeking | 33 |
| visitation; | 34 |
| (C) the court, other than a Juvenile Court, has | 35 |
| terminated a parent-child relationship and the | 36 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling is the parent |
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| of the person whose parental rights have been terminated, | 2 |
| except in cases of adoption. The visitation must not be | 3 |
| used to allow the parent who lost parental rights to | 4 |
| unlawfully visit with the child; | 5 |
| (D) the child is illegitimate, the parents are not | 6 |
| living together, and the petitioner is a maternal | 7 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the | 8 |
| illegitimate child; or | 9 |
| (E) the child is illegitimate, the parents are not | 10 |
| living together, the petitioner is a paternal grandparent, | 11 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling, and the paternity has been | 12 |
| established by a court of competent jurisdiction. | 13 |
| (2) The grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of a | 14 |
| parent whose parental rights have been terminated through an | 15 |
| adoption proceeding may not petition for visitation rights.
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| (3) In making a determination under this subsection (a-5), | 17 |
| there is a
rebuttable
presumption that a fit parent's actions | 18 |
| and decisions regarding grandparent,
great-grandparent, or | 19 |
| sibling visitation are not harmful to the child's mental, | 20 |
| physical, or emotional health. The
burden is on the
party | 21 |
| filing a petition under this Section to prove that the
parent's | 22 |
| actions and
decisions regarding visitation times are harmful to | 23 |
| the child's mental, physical, or emotional health. | 24 |
| (4) In determining whether to grant visitation, the court | 25 |
| shall consider the following:
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| (A) the preference of the child if the child is | 27 |
| determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a | 28 |
| preference; | 29 |
| (B) the mental and physical health of the child; | 30 |
| (C) the mental and physical health of the grandparent, | 31 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling; | 32 |
| (D) the length and quality of the prior relationship | 33 |
| between the child and the grandparent, great-grandparent, | 34 |
| or sibling;
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| (E) the good faith of the party in filing the petition;
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| (F) the good faith of the person denying visitation; |
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| (G) the quantity of the visitation time requested and | 2 |
| the potential adverse impact that visitation would have on | 3 |
| the child's customary activities; | 4 |
| (H) whether the child resided with the petitioner for | 5 |
| at least 6 consecutive months with or without the current | 6 |
| custodian present; | 7 |
| (I) whether the petitioner had frequent or regular | 8 |
| contact with the child for at least 12 consecutive months; | 9 |
| and
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| (J) any other fact that establishes that the loss of | 11 |
| the relationship between the petitioner and the child is | 12 |
| likely to harm the child's mental, physical, or emotional | 13 |
| health. | 14 |
| (5) The court may order visitation rights for the | 15 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling that include | 16 |
| reasonable access without requiring overnight or possessory | 17 |
| visitation.
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| (a-7)(1) Unless by stipulation of the parties, no motion to | 19 |
| modify a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation | 20 |
| order may be made earlier than 2 years after the date the order | 21 |
| was filed, unless the court permits it to be made on the basis | 22 |
| of affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's | 23 |
| present environment may endanger seriously the child's mental, | 24 |
| physical, or emotional health. | 25 |
| (2) The court shall not modify a prior grandparent, | 26 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling visitation order unless it finds | 27 |
| by clear and convincing evidence, upon the basis of facts that | 28 |
| have arisen since the prior visitation order or that were | 29 |
| unknown to the court at the time of entry of the prior | 30 |
| visitation, that a change has occurred in the circumstances of | 31 |
| the child or his or her custodian, and that the modification is | 32 |
| necessary to protect the mental, physical, or emotional health | 33 |
| of the child. The court shall state in its decision specific | 34 |
| findings of fact in support of its modification or termination | 35 |
| of the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation. | 36 |
| (3) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a |
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LRB094 05993 LCB 36050 b |
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| party seeking modification of the visitation order if the court | 2 |
| finds that the modification action is vexatious and constitutes | 3 |
| harassment. | 4 |
| (4) Notice under this subsection (a-7) shall be given as | 5 |
| provided in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.
| 6 |
| (b) (1) (Blank.)
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| (1.5) The Court may grant reasonable visitation privileges | 8 |
| to a stepparent
upon petition to the court by the stepparent, | 9 |
| with notice to the parties
required to be notified under | 10 |
| Section 601 of this Act, if the court determines
that it is in | 11 |
| the best interests and welfare of the child, and may issue any
| 12 |
| necessary orders to enforce those visitation privileges.
A | 13 |
| petition for visitation privileges may be filed under this | 14 |
| paragraph (1.5)
whether or not a petition pursuant to this Act | 15 |
| has been previously filed or is
currently pending if the | 16 |
| following
circumstances are met:
| 17 |
| (A) the child is at least 12 years old;
| 18 |
| (B) the child resided continuously with the parent and | 19 |
| stepparent for at
least 5 years;
| 20 |
| (C) the parent is deceased or is disabled and is unable | 21 |
| to care for the
child;
| 22 |
| (D) the child wishes to have reasonable visitation with | 23 |
| the stepparent;
and
| 24 |
| (E) the stepparent was providing for the care, control, | 25 |
| and welfare to the
child prior to the initiation of the | 26 |
| petition for visitation.
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| (2)(A) A petition for visitation privileges shall not be | 28 |
| filed pursuant
to this subsection (b) by the parents or | 29 |
| grandparents of a putative father
if the paternity of the | 30 |
| putative father has not been legally established.
| 31 |
| (B) A petition for visitation privileges may not be filed | 32 |
| under
this subsection (b) if the child who is the subject of | 33 |
| the
grandparents' or great-grandparents' petition has been | 34 |
| voluntarily
surrendered by the parent or parents, except for a | 35 |
| surrender to the
Illinois Department of Children and Family | 36 |
| Services or a foster care
facility, or has been previously |
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LRB094 05993 LCB 36050 b |
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| adopted by an individual or individuals
who are not related to | 2 |
| the biological parents of the child or is the
subject of a | 3 |
| pending adoption petition by an individual or individuals who
| 4 |
| are not related to the biological parents of the child.
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| (3) (Blank).
| 6 |
| (c) The court may modify an order granting or denying | 7 |
| visitation
rights of a parent whenever modification would serve | 8 |
| the best interest of
the child;
but the court shall not | 9 |
| restrict a parent's visitation rights unless it
finds that the | 10 |
| visitation would endanger seriously the child's physical,
| 11 |
| mental, moral or emotional health.
The court may modify an | 12 |
| order granting, denying, or limiting visitation
rights of a | 13 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of any minor child
| 14 |
| whenever a change of circumstances has occurred based on facts | 15 |
| occurring
subsequent to the judgment and the court finds by | 16 |
| clear and convincing evidence
that the modification is in the | 17 |
| best interest of the minor child.
| 18 |
| (c-3) In any proceeding for the modification of an order | 19 |
| granting or denying visitation rights of a parent where the | 20 |
| court hears evidence concerning physical violence or threat of | 21 |
| physical violence by the child's
potential custodian or the | 22 |
| occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as defined in Section | 23 |
| 103 of the
Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, whether | 24 |
| directed against the child
or directed against another person, | 25 |
| the court shall state in writing the evidence the reason that | 26 |
| the court determined that granting or denying visitation with | 27 |
| that party is in the best interest of the child.
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| (d) If any court has entered an order prohibiting a | 29 |
| non-custodial parent
of a child from any contact with a child
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| or restricting the non-custodial parent's contact with the | 31 |
| child, the
following provisions shall apply:
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| (1) If an order has been entered granting visitation | 33 |
| privileges with the
child to a grandparent or | 34 |
| great-grandparent who is related to the child through
the | 35 |
| non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges of the | 36 |
| grandparent or
great-grandparent may be revoked if:
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LRB094 05993 LCB 36050 b |
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| (i) a court has entered an order prohibiting the | 2 |
| non-custodial parent
from any contact with the child, | 3 |
| and the grandparent or great-grandparent is
found to | 4 |
| have used his or her visitation privileges to | 5 |
| facilitate contact
between the child and the | 6 |
| non-custodial parent; or
| 7 |
| (ii) a court has entered an order restricting the | 8 |
| non-custodial parent's
contact with the child, and the | 9 |
| grandparent or great-grandparent is found to
have used | 10 |
| his or her visitation privileges to facilitate contact
| 11 |
| between the child and the non-custodial parent in a | 12 |
| manner that violates the
terms of the order restricting | 13 |
| the non-custodial parent's contact with the
child.
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| Nothing in this subdivision (1) limits the authority of | 15 |
| the court to
enforce its orders in any manner permitted by | 16 |
| law.
| 17 |
| (2) Any order granting visitation privileges with the | 18 |
| child to a
grandparent or great-grandparent who is related | 19 |
| to the child through the
non-custodial parent shall contain | 20 |
| the following provision:
| 21 |
| "If the (grandparent or great-grandparent, whichever | 22 |
| is applicable) who has
been granted visitation privileges | 23 |
| under this order uses the visitation
privileges to | 24 |
| facilitate contact between the child and the child's
| 25 |
| non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges granted | 26 |
| under this order shall
be permanently revoked."
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| (e) No parent, not granted custody of the child, or | 28 |
| grandparent, or
great-grandparent, or stepparent, or sibling | 29 |
| of any minor child, convicted
of any offense
involving an | 30 |
| illegal sex act perpetrated upon a victim less than 18 years of
| 31 |
| age including but not limited to offenses for violations of | 32 |
| Article 12 of the
Criminal Code of 1961, is entitled to | 33 |
| visitation rights while incarcerated
or while on parole, | 34 |
| probation, conditional discharge, periodic
imprisonment, or
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| mandatory supervised release for that offense, and upon | 36 |
| discharge from
incarceration for a misdemeanor offense or upon |
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| discharge from parole,
probation, conditional discharge, | 2 |
| periodic imprisonment,
or mandatory supervised release for a | 3 |
| felony offense, visitation shall be
denied until the person | 4 |
| successfully completes a treatment program approved
by the | 5 |
| court.
| 6 |
| (f) Unless the court determines, after considering all | 7 |
| relevant factors,
including but not limited to those set forth | 8 |
| in Section 602(a), that it would
be in the best interests of | 9 |
| the child to allow visitation, the court shall not
enter an | 10 |
| order providing visitation rights and pursuant to a motion to | 11 |
| modify
visitation shall revoke visitation rights previously | 12 |
| granted to any
person who would otherwise be entitled to | 13 |
| petition for visitation rights under
this Section who has been | 14 |
| convicted of first degree murder of the parent,
grandparent, | 15 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling of the child who is the subject | 16 |
| of
the order. Until an order is entered pursuant to this | 17 |
| subsection, no person
shall visit, with
the child present, a | 18 |
| person who has been convicted of first degree murder of
the | 19 |
| parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the | 20 |
| child
without the consent of the child's parent, other than a | 21 |
| parent convicted of
first degree murder as set forth herein, or | 22 |
| legal
guardian.
| 23 |
| (g) If an order has been entered limiting, for cause, a | 24 |
| minor child's
contact or
visitation with a grandparent, | 25 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling on the grounds
that it was in the | 26 |
| best interest of the child to do so, that order may be
modified | 27 |
| only upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances | 28 |
| occurring
subsequent to the entry of the order with proof by | 29 |
| clear and convincing
evidence that modification is in the best | 30 |
| interest of the minor child.
| 31 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-911, eff. 1-1-05.)
| 32 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 33 |
| becoming law.
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