Rep. Kelly Burke

Filed: 4/7/2014

 

 


 

 


 
09800HB4124ham001LRB098 15680 HEP 58278 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4124

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4124 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
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

 

 

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1arisen between parties to a marriage;
2    (4) mitigate the potential harm to spouses and their
3children caused by the process of an action brought under this
4Act, and protect children from exposure to conflict and
5violence;
6    (5) ensure predictable decision-making for the care of
7children and for the allocation of parenting time and other
8parental responsibilities, and avoid prolonged uncertainty by
9expeditiously resolving issues involving children;
10    (6) recognize the right of children to a healthy
11relationship with parents, and the responsibility of parents to
12ensure such a relationship;
13    (7) acknowledge that the determination of children's best
14interests, and the allocation of parenting time and significant
15decision-making responsibilities, are among the paramount
16responsibilities of our system of justice, and to that end:
17        (A) recognize children's right to a strong and healthy
18    relationship with parents, and parents' concomitant right
19    and responsibility to create and maintain such
20    relationships;
21        (B) recognize that, in the absence of domestic violence
22    or any other factor that the court expressly finds to be
23    relevant, proximity to, and frequent contact with, both
24    parents promotes healthy development of children;
25        (C) facilitate parental planning and agreement about
26    the children's upbringing and allocation of parenting time

 

 

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1    and other parental responsibilities;
2        (D) continue existing parent-child relationships, and
3    secure the maximum involvement and cooperation of parents
4    regarding the physical, mental, moral, and emotional
5    well-being of the children during and after the litigation;
6    and
7        (D-5) recognize that, in order to maximize the
8    opportunity for each child to maintain and strengthen the
9    child's relationship with each parent, the child's best
10    interests may be served with a minimum amount of
11    residential parenting time for each parent of not less than
12    35% of available residential parenting time; the minimum
13    percentage of parenting time shall not, in and of itself,
14    constitute a reason for deviation from the child support
15    guidelines; and
16        (E) promote or order parents to participate in programs
17    designed to educate parents to:
18            (i) minimize or eliminate rancor and the
19        detrimental effect of litigation in any proceeding
20        involving children; and
21            (ii) facilitate the maximum cooperation of parents
22        in raising their children;
23    (8) make reasonable provision for support during and after
24an underlying dissolution of marriage, parentage, or parental
25responsibility allocation action, including provision for
26timely advances of interim fees and costs to all attorneys,

 

 

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1experts, and opinion witnesses including guardians ad litem and
2children's representatives, to achieve substantial parity in
3parties' access to funds for pre-judgment litigation costs in
4an action for dissolution of marriage;
5    (9) eliminate the consideration of marital misconduct in
6the adjudication of rights and duties incident to dissolution
7of marriage, legal separation and declaration of invalidity of
8marriage; and
9    (10) make provision for the preservation and conservation
10of marital assets during the litigation.
11(Source: P.A. 89-712, eff. 6-1-97; LRB09802948HEP58277a.)".