Public Act 096-0676
 
HB2283 Enrolled LRB096 09929 AJO 20093 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 602 and 610 as
follows:
 
    (750 ILCS 5/602)  (from Ch. 40, par. 602)
    Sec. 602. Best Interest of Child.
    (a) The court shall determine custody in accordance with
the best interest of the child. The court shall consider all
relevant factors including:
        (1) the wishes of the child's parent or parents as to
    his custody;
        (2) the wishes of the child as to his custodian;
        (3) the interaction and interrelationship of the child
    with his parent or parents, his siblings and any other
    person who may significantly affect the child's best
    interest;
        (4) the child's adjustment to his home, school and
    community;
        (5) the mental and physical health of all individuals
    involved;
        (6) the physical violence or threat of physical
    violence by the child's potential custodian, whether
    directed against the child or directed against another
    person;
        (7) the occurrence of ongoing or repeated abuse as
    defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence
    Act of 1986, whether directed against the child or directed
    against another person;
        (8) the willingness and ability of each parent to
    facilitate and encourage a close and continuing
    relationship between the other parent and the child; and
        (9) whether one of the parents is a sex offender; and .
        (10) the terms of a parent's military family-care plan
    that a parent must complete before deployment if a parent
    is a member of the United States Armed Forces who is being
    deployed.
    In the case of a custody proceeding in which a stepparent
has standing under Section 601, it is presumed to be in the
best interest of the minor child that the natural parent have
the custody of the minor child unless the presumption is
rebutted by the stepparent.
    (b) The court shall not consider conduct of a present or
proposed custodian that does not affect his relationship to the
child.
    (c) Unless the court finds the occurrence of ongoing abuse
as defined in Section 103 of the Illinois Domestic Violence Act
of 1986, the court shall presume that the maximum involvement
and cooperation of both parents regarding the physical, mental,
moral, and emotional well-being of their child is in the best
interest of the child. There shall be no presumption in favor
of or against joint custody.
(Source: P.A. 94-377, eff. 7-29-05; 94-643, eff. 1-1-06;
95-331, eff. 8-21-07.)
 
    (750 ILCS 5/610)  (from Ch. 40, par. 610)
    Sec. 610. Modification.
    (a) Unless by stipulation of the parties or except as
provided in subsection (a-5), no motion to modify a custody
judgment may be made earlier than 2 years after its date,
unless the court permits it to be made on the basis of
affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's present
environment may endanger seriously his physical, mental, moral
or emotional health.
    (a-5) A motion to modify a custody judgment may be made at
any time by a party who has been informed of the existence of
facts requiring notice to be given under Section 609.5.
    (b) The court shall not modify a prior custody judgment
unless it finds by clear and convincing evidence, upon the
basis of facts that have arisen since the prior judgment or
that were unknown to the court at the time of entry of the
prior judgment, that a change has occurred in the circumstances
of the child or his custodian, or in the case of a joint
custody arrangement that a change has occurred in the
circumstances of the child or either or both parties having
custody, and that the modification is necessary to serve the
best interest of the child. The existence of facts requiring
notice to be given under Section 609.5 of this Act shall be
considered a change in circumstance. In the case of joint
custody, if the parties agree to a termination of a joint
custody arrangement, the court shall so terminate the joint
custody and make any modification which is in the child's best
interest. The court shall state in its decision specific
findings of fact in support of its modification or termination
of joint custody if either parent opposes the modification or
termination.
    (c) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a
party seeking modification if the court finds that the
modification action is vexatious and constitutes harassment.
    (d) Notice under this Section shall be given as provided in
subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.
    (e) A party's absence, relocation, or failure to comply
with the court's orders on custody, visitation, or parenting
time may not, by itself, be sufficient to justify a
modification of a prior order if the reason for the absence,
relocation, or failure to comply is the party's deployment as a
member of the United States Armed Forces.
(Source: P.A. 94-643, eff. 1-1-06.)