HB4124 EngrossedLRB098 15680 RPS 50711 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. If and only if House Bill 1452 of the 98th
5General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Marriage and
6Dissolution of Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 102
7as follows:
 
8    (750 ILCS 5/102)  (from Ch. 40, par. 102)
9    Sec. 102. Purposes; Rules of Construction. This Act shall
10be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying
11purposes, which are to:
12    (1) provide adequate procedures for the solemnization and
13registration of marriage;
14    (2) strengthen and preserve the integrity of marriage and
15safeguard family relationships;
16    (3) promote the amicable settlement of disputes that have
17arisen between parties to a marriage;
18    (4) mitigate the potential harm to spouses and their
19children caused by the process of an action brought under this
20Act, and protect children from exposure to conflict and
21violence;
22    (5) ensure predictable decision-making for the care of
23children and for the allocation of parenting time and other

 

 

HB4124 Engrossed- 2 -LRB098 15680 RPS 50711 b

1parental responsibilities, and avoid prolonged uncertainty by
2expeditiously resolving issues involving children;
3    (6) recognize the right of children to a healthy
4relationship with parents, and the responsibility of parents to
5ensure such a relationship;
6    (7) acknowledge that the determination of children's best
7interests, and the allocation of parenting time and significant
8decision-making responsibilities, are among the paramount
9responsibilities of our system of justice, and to that end:
10        (A) recognize children's right to a strong and healthy
11    relationship with parents, and parents' concomitant right
12    and responsibility to create and maintain such
13    relationships;
14        (B) recognize that, in the absence of domestic violence
15    or any other factor that the court expressly finds to be
16    relevant, proximity to, and frequent contact with, both
17    parents promotes healthy development of children;
18        (C) facilitate parental planning and agreement about
19    the children's upbringing and allocation of parenting time
20    and other parental responsibilities;
21        (D) continue existing parent-child relationships, and
22    secure the maximum involvement and cooperation of parents
23    regarding the physical, mental, moral, and emotional
24    well-being of the children during and after the litigation;
25    and
26        (D-5) recognize that, in order to maximize the

 

 

HB4124 Engrossed- 3 -LRB098 15680 RPS 50711 b

1    opportunity for each child to maintain and strengthen the
2    child's relationship with each parent, the child's best
3    interests may be served with a minimum amount of
4    residential parenting time for each parent of not less than
5    35% of available residential parenting time; the minimum
6    percentage of parenting time shall not, in and of itself,
7    constitute a reason for deviation from the child support
8    guidelines; and
9        (E) promote or order parents to participate in programs
10    designed to educate parents to:
11            (i) minimize or eliminate rancor and the
12        detrimental effect of litigation in any proceeding
13        involving children; and
14            (ii) facilitate the maximum cooperation of parents
15        in raising their children;
16    (8) make reasonable provision for support during and after
17an underlying dissolution of marriage, parentage, or parental
18responsibility allocation action, including provision for
19timely advances of interim fees and costs to all attorneys,
20experts, and opinion witnesses including guardians ad litem and
21children's representatives, to achieve substantial parity in
22parties' access to funds for pre-judgment litigation costs in
23an action for dissolution of marriage;
24    (9) eliminate the consideration of marital misconduct in
25the adjudication of rights and duties incident to dissolution
26of marriage, legal separation and declaration of invalidity of

 

 

HB4124 Engrossed- 4 -LRB098 15680 RPS 50711 b

1marriage; and
2    (10) make provision for the preservation and conservation
3of marital assets during the litigation.
4(Source: P.A. 89-712, eff. 6-1-97; LRB09802948HEP58277a.)