Full Text of HB1978 95th General Assembly
HB1978eng 95TH 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 607 and 609 as | 6 |
| follows:
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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 | 10 |
| to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds,
after a | 11 |
| hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child's
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| physical, mental, moral or emotional health. If the custodian's | 13 |
| street
address is not identified, pursuant to Section 708, the | 14 |
| court shall require
the parties to identify reasonable | 15 |
| alternative arrangements for visitation
by a non-custodial | 16 |
| parent, including but not limited to visitation of the
minor | 17 |
| child at the residence of another person or at a local public | 18 |
| or
private facility.
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| (1) "Visitation" means in-person time spent between a | 20 |
| child and the child's parent. In appropriate | 21 |
| circumstances, it may include electronic communication | 22 |
| under conditions and at times determined by the court. | 23 |
| (2) "Electronic communication" means time that a |
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| parent spends with his or her child during which the child | 2 |
| is not in the parent's actual physical custody, but which | 3 |
| is facilitated by the use of communication tools such as | 4 |
| the telephone, electronic mail, instant messaging, video | 5 |
| conferencing or other wired or wireless technologies via | 6 |
| the Internet, or another medium of communication.
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| (a-3) Grandparents, great-grandparents, and siblings of a | 8 |
| minor child, who is one year old or older, have standing to | 9 |
| bring an action in circuit court by petition, requesting | 10 |
| visitation in accordance with this Section. The term "sibling" | 11 |
| in this Section means a brother, sister, stepbrother, or | 12 |
| stepsister of the minor child. Grandparents, | 13 |
| great-grandparents, and siblings also have standing to file a | 14 |
| petition for visitation and any electronic communication
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| rights in a pending dissolution proceeding or any other | 16 |
| proceeding that involves custody or visitation issues, | 17 |
| requesting visitation in accordance with this Section. A | 18 |
| petition for visitation with a child by a person other than a | 19 |
| parent must be filed in the county in which the child resides. | 20 |
| Nothing in this subsection (a-3) and subsection (a-5) of this | 21 |
| Section shall apply to a child in whose interests a petition is | 22 |
| pending under Section 2-13 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or | 23 |
| a petition to adopt an unrelated child is pending under the | 24 |
| Adoption Act. | 25 |
| (a-5)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection | 26 |
| (a-5), any grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling may file |
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| a
petition for
visitation rights to a minor child if there is | 2 |
| an unreasonable denial of visitation by a parent and at least | 3 |
| one
of the
following conditions exists: | 4 |
| (A) (Blank); | 5 |
| (A-5) the child's other parent is deceased or has been | 6 |
| missing for at least 3 months. For the purposes of this | 7 |
| Section a parent is considered to be missing if the | 8 |
| parent's location has not been determined and the parent | 9 |
| has been reported as missing to a law enforcement agency;
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| (A-10) a parent of the child is incompetent as a matter | 11 |
| of law;
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| (A-15) a parent has been incarcerated in jail or prison | 13 |
| during the 3 month period preceding the filing of the | 14 |
| petition;
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| (B) the child's mother and father are divorced or have | 16 |
| been legally separated from
each other or there is pending | 17 |
| a dissolution proceeding involving a parent of the child or | 18 |
| another court proceeding involving custody or visitation | 19 |
| of the child (other than any adoption proceeding of an | 20 |
| unrelated child) and at least one parent does not object to | 21 |
| the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling having | 22 |
| visitation with the child. The visitation of the | 23 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling must not | 24 |
| diminish the visitation of the parent who is not related to | 25 |
| the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling seeking | 26 |
| visitation; |
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| (C) (Blank); | 2 |
| (D) the child is born out of wedlock, the parents are | 3 |
| not living together, and the petitioner is a maternal | 4 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the child | 5 |
| born out of wedlock; or | 6 |
| (E) the child is born out of wedlock, the parents are | 7 |
| not living together, the petitioner is a paternal | 8 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling, and the | 9 |
| paternity has been established by a court of competent | 10 |
| jurisdiction. | 11 |
| (2) Any visitation rights granted pursuant to this Section | 12 |
| before the filing of a petition for adoption of a child shall | 13 |
| automatically terminate by operation of law upon the entry of | 14 |
| an order terminating parental rights or granting the adoption | 15 |
| of the child, whichever is earlier. If the person or persons | 16 |
| who adopted the child are related to the child, as defined by | 17 |
| Section 1 of the Adoption Act, any person who was related to | 18 |
| the child as grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling prior | 19 |
| to the adoption shall have standing to bring an action pursuant | 20 |
| to this Section requesting visitation with the child.
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| (3) In making a determination under this subsection (a-5), | 22 |
| there is a
rebuttable
presumption that a fit parent's actions | 23 |
| and decisions regarding grandparent,
great-grandparent, or | 24 |
| sibling visitation are not harmful to the child's mental, | 25 |
| physical, or emotional health. The
burden is on the
party | 26 |
| filing a petition under this Section to prove that the
parent's |
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| actions and
decisions regarding visitation times are harmful to | 2 |
| the child's mental, physical, or emotional health. | 3 |
| (4) In determining whether to grant visitation, the court | 4 |
| shall consider the following:
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| (A) the preference of the child if the child is | 6 |
| determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a | 7 |
| preference; | 8 |
| (B) the mental and physical health of the child; | 9 |
| (C) the mental and physical health of the grandparent, | 10 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling; | 11 |
| (D) the length and quality of the prior relationship | 12 |
| between the child and the grandparent, great-grandparent, | 13 |
| 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; | 16 |
| (G) the quantity of the visitation time requested and | 17 |
| the potential adverse impact that visitation would have on | 18 |
| the child's customary activities; | 19 |
| (H) whether the child resided with the petitioner for | 20 |
| at least
6 consecutive months with or without the current | 21 |
| custodian present; | 22 |
| (I) whether the petitioner had frequent or regular | 23 |
| contact or visitation with the child for at least 12 | 24 |
| consecutive months;
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| (J) any other fact that establishes that the loss of | 26 |
| the relationship between the petitioner and the child is |
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| likely to harm the child's mental, physical, or emotional | 2 |
| health; and | 3 |
| (K) whether the grandparent, great-grandparent, or | 4 |
| sibling was a primary caretaker of the child for a period | 5 |
| of not less than 6 consecutive months.
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| (5) The court may order visitation rights for the | 7 |
| grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling that include | 8 |
| reasonable access without requiring overnight or possessory | 9 |
| visitation.
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| (a-7)(1) Unless by stipulation of the parties, no motion to | 11 |
| modify a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation | 12 |
| order may be made earlier than 2 years after the date the order | 13 |
| was filed, unless the court permits it to be made on the basis | 14 |
| of affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's | 15 |
| present environment may endanger seriously the child's mental, | 16 |
| physical, or emotional health. | 17 |
| (2) The court shall not modify an order that grants | 18 |
| visitation to a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling | 19 |
| unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence, upon the | 20 |
| basis of facts that have arisen since the prior visitation | 21 |
| order or that were unknown to the court at the time of entry of | 22 |
| the prior visitation, that a change has occurred in the | 23 |
| circumstances of the child or his or her custodian, and that | 24 |
| the modification is necessary to protect the mental, physical, | 25 |
| or emotional health of the child. The court shall state in its | 26 |
| decision specific findings of fact in support of its |
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| modification or termination of the grandparent, | 2 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling visitation. A child's parent may | 3 |
| always petition to modify visitation upon changed | 4 |
| circumstances when necessary to promote the child's best | 5 |
| interest. | 6 |
| (3) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a | 7 |
| party seeking modification of the visitation order if the court | 8 |
| finds that the modification action is vexatious and constitutes | 9 |
| harassment. | 10 |
| (4) Notice under this subsection (a-7) shall be given as | 11 |
| provided in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.
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| (b) (1) (Blank.)
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| (1.5) The Court may grant reasonable visitation privileges | 14 |
| to a stepparent
upon petition to the court by the stepparent, | 15 |
| with notice to the parties
required to be notified under | 16 |
| Section 601 of this Act, if the court determines
that it is in | 17 |
| the best interests and welfare of the child, and may issue any
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| necessary orders to enforce those visitation privileges.
A | 19 |
| petition for visitation privileges may be filed under this | 20 |
| paragraph (1.5)
whether or not a petition pursuant to this Act | 21 |
| has been previously filed or is
currently pending if the | 22 |
| following
circumstances are met:
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| (A) the child is at least 12 years old;
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| (B) the child resided continuously with the parent and | 25 |
| stepparent for at
least 5 years;
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| (C) the parent is deceased or is disabled and is unable |
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| to care for the
child;
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| (D) the child wishes to have reasonable visitation with | 3 |
| the stepparent;
and
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| (E) the stepparent was providing for the care, control, | 5 |
| and welfare to the
child prior to the initiation of the | 6 |
| petition for visitation.
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| (2)(A) A petition for visitation privileges shall not be | 8 |
| filed pursuant
to this subsection (b) by the parents or | 9 |
| grandparents of a putative father
if the paternity of the | 10 |
| putative father has not been legally established.
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| (B) A petition for visitation privileges may not be filed | 12 |
| under
this subsection (b) if the child who is the subject of | 13 |
| the
grandparents' or great-grandparents' petition has been | 14 |
| voluntarily
surrendered by the parent or parents, except for a | 15 |
| surrender to the
Illinois Department of Children and Family | 16 |
| Services or a foster care
facility, or has been previously | 17 |
| adopted by an individual or individuals
who are not related to | 18 |
| the biological parents of the child or is the
subject of a | 19 |
| pending adoption petition by an individual or individuals who
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| are not related to the biological parents of the child.
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| (3) (Blank).
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| (c) The court may modify an order granting or denying | 23 |
| visitation
rights of a parent whenever modification would serve | 24 |
| the best interest of
the child;
but the court shall not | 25 |
| restrict a parent's visitation rights unless it
finds that the | 26 |
| visitation would endanger seriously the child's physical,
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| mental, moral or emotional health.
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| (d) If any court has entered an order prohibiting a | 3 |
| 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 | 5 |
| child, the
following provisions shall apply:
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| (1) If an order has been entered granting visitation | 7 |
| privileges with the
child to a grandparent or | 8 |
| great-grandparent who is related to the child through
the | 9 |
| non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges of the | 10 |
| grandparent or
great-grandparent may be revoked if:
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| (i) a court has entered an order prohibiting the | 12 |
| non-custodial parent
from any contact with the child, | 13 |
| and the grandparent or great-grandparent is
found to | 14 |
| have used his or her visitation privileges to | 15 |
| facilitate contact
between the child and the | 16 |
| non-custodial parent; or
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| (ii) a court has entered an order restricting the | 18 |
| non-custodial parent's
contact with the child, and the | 19 |
| grandparent or great-grandparent is found to
have used | 20 |
| his or her visitation privileges to facilitate contact
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| between the child and the non-custodial parent in a | 22 |
| manner that violates the
terms of the order restricting | 23 |
| the non-custodial parent's contact with the
child.
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| Nothing in this subdivision (1) limits the authority of | 25 |
| the court to
enforce its orders in any manner permitted by | 26 |
| law.
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| (2) Any order granting visitation privileges with the | 2 |
| child to a
grandparent or great-grandparent who is related | 3 |
| to the child through the
non-custodial parent shall contain | 4 |
| the following provision:
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| "If the (grandparent or great-grandparent, whichever | 6 |
| is applicable) who has
been granted visitation privileges | 7 |
| under this order uses the visitation
privileges to | 8 |
| facilitate contact between the child and the child's
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| non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges granted | 10 |
| under this order shall
be permanently revoked."
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| (e) No parent, not granted custody of the child, or | 12 |
| grandparent, or
great-grandparent, or stepparent, or sibling | 13 |
| of any minor child, convicted
of any offense
involving an | 14 |
| illegal sex act perpetrated upon a victim less than 18 years of
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| age including but not limited to offenses for violations of | 16 |
| Article 12 of the
Criminal Code of 1961, is entitled to | 17 |
| visitation rights while incarcerated
or while on parole, | 18 |
| probation, conditional discharge, periodic
imprisonment, or
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| mandatory supervised release for that offense, and upon | 20 |
| discharge from
incarceration for a misdemeanor offense or upon | 21 |
| discharge from parole,
probation, conditional discharge, | 22 |
| periodic imprisonment,
or mandatory supervised release for a | 23 |
| felony offense, visitation shall be
denied until the person | 24 |
| successfully completes a treatment program approved
by the | 25 |
| court.
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| (f) Unless the court determines, after considering all |
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| relevant factors,
including but not limited to those set forth | 2 |
| in Section 602(a), that it would
be in the best interests of | 3 |
| the child to allow visitation, the court shall not
enter an | 4 |
| order providing visitation rights and pursuant to a motion to | 5 |
| modify
visitation shall revoke visitation rights previously | 6 |
| granted to any
person who would otherwise be entitled to | 7 |
| petition for visitation rights under
this Section who has been | 8 |
| convicted of first degree murder of the parent,
grandparent, | 9 |
| great-grandparent, or sibling of the child who is the subject | 10 |
| of
the order. Until an order is entered pursuant to this | 11 |
| subsection, no person
shall visit, with
the child present, a | 12 |
| person who has been convicted of first degree murder of
the | 13 |
| parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the | 14 |
| child
without the consent of the child's parent, other than a | 15 |
| parent convicted of
first degree murder as set forth herein, or | 16 |
| legal
guardian.
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| (g) (Blank).
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| (Source: P.A. 93-911, eff. 1-1-05; 94-229, eff. 1-1-06; | 19 |
| 94-1026, eff. 1-1-07 .)
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| (750 ILCS 5/609) (from Ch. 40, par. 609)
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| Sec. 609. Leave to Remove Children.) | 22 |
| (a) The court may grant leave, before
or after judgment, to | 23 |
| any party having custody of any minor child or children
to | 24 |
| remove such child or children from Illinois whenever such | 25 |
| approval is
in the best interests of such child or children. |
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| The burden of proving that
such removal is in the best | 2 |
| interests of such child or children is on the
party seeking the | 3 |
| removal. When such removal is permitted, the court may
require | 4 |
| the party removing such child or children from Illinois
to give | 5 |
| reasonable security guaranteeing the return of such children.
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| (b) Before a minor child is temporarily removed from | 7 |
| Illinois, the
parent responsible for the removal shall inform | 8 |
| the other parent, or the
other parent's attorney, of the | 9 |
| address and telephone number where the
child may be reached | 10 |
| during the period of temporary removal, and the date
on which | 11 |
| the child shall return to Illinois.
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| (c) The court may not use the availability of electronic | 13 |
| communication as a factor in support of a removal of a child by | 14 |
| the custodial parent from Illinois. | 15 |
| The State of Illinois retains jurisdiction when the minor | 16 |
| child is
absent from the State pursuant to this subsection.
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| (Source: P.A. 85-768.)
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