093_HB2251eng

 
HB2251 Engrossed                     LRB093 10556 LCB 10810 b

 1        AN ACT concerning parentage.

 2        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section 5.  The Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 is amended
 5    by changing Section 14 as follows:

 6        (750 ILCS 45/14) (from Ch. 40, par. 2514)
 7        Sec. 14.  Judgment.
 8        (a) (1)  The judgment shall contain or explicitly reserve
 9    provisions concerning any duty and amount of  child  support,
10    the  custody  or  guardianship  of  the child, and visitation
11    privileges  with  the  child,  and  may  contain   provisions
12    concerning   the  custody  and  guardianship  of  the  child,
13    visitation privileges with the child, the furnishing of  bond
14    or  other security for the payment of the judgment, which the
15    court shall determine in accordance with the relevant factors
16    set  forth  in  the  Illinois  Marriage  and  Dissolution  of
17    Marriage Act and any other applicable  law  of  Illinois,  to
18    guide  the  court  in  a finding in the best interests of the
19    child. In determining custody, joint custody, or  visitation,
20    the  court shall apply the relevant standards of the Illinois
21    Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage  Act.  Specifically,  in
22    determining  the amount of any child support award, the court
23    shall  use  the  guidelines  and  standards  set   forth   in
24    subsection  (a)  of  Section  505 and in Section 505.2 of the
25    Illinois Marriage  and  Dissolution  of  Marriage  Act.   For
26    purposes   of  Section  505  of  the  Illinois  Marriage  and
27    Dissolution  of   Marriage   Act,   "net   income"   of   the
28    non-custodial  parent shall include any benefits available to
29    that person under the Illinois Public Aid Code or from  other
30    federal,  State  or  local  government-funded  programs.  The
31    court shall, in any event and regardless of the amount of the
 
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 1    non-custodial parent's net income, in its judgment order  the
 2    non-custodial  parent  to  pay child support to the custodial
 3    parent in a minimum amount of not less than $10 per month. In
 4    an action brought within 2 years after a child's  birth,  the
 5    judgment  or  order  may  direct  either  parent  to  pay the
 6    reasonable expenses incurred by either parent related to  the
 7    mother's  pregnancy  and  the  delivery  of  the  child.  The
 8    judgment  or order shall contain the father's social security
 9    number,  which  the  father  shall  disclose  to  the  court;
10    however, failure to  include  the  father's  social  security
11    number  on  the  judgment  or  order  does not invalidate the
12    judgment or order.
13        (2)  If a judgment  of  parentage  contains  no  explicit
14    award  of  custody, the establishment of a support obligation
15    or of visitation rights in one parent shall be  considered  a
16    judgment  granting  custody  to  the  other  parent.   If the
17    parentage judgment contains no such provisions, custody shall
18    be presumed to be with the mother; however,  the  presumption
19    shall not apply if the father has had physical custody for at
20    least  6  months  prior  to the date that the mother seeks to
21    enforce custodial rights.  The parent without custody of  the
22    child  is entitled to reasonable visitation rights unless the
23    court finds, after a hearing, that visitation would  endanger
24    seriously  the  child's physical, mental, moral, or emotional
25    health.
26        (3)  A party may not remove a child  from  the  State  of
27    Illinois  without  first  obtaining  leave of Court to do so.
28    The court may grant leave to any party having custody of  any
29    minor  child or children to remove the child or children from
30    Illinois under the standards contained in Section 609 of  the
31    Illinois  Marriage  and Dissolution of Marriage Act.  Section
32    609 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage  Act
33    shall  apply  to matters concerning the removal of a child or
34    children from Illinois.
 
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 1        (b)  The court shall order all  child  support  payments,
 2    determined  in  accordance  with such guidelines, to commence
 3    with the date  summons  is  served.   The  level  of  current
 4    periodic  support  payments  shall  not be reduced because of
 5    payments set for the period prior to the date of entry of the
 6    support  order.   The  Court  may  order  any  child  support
 7    payments to be made for a period prior to the commencement of
 8    the action. In determining whether and the  extent  to  which
 9    the  payments  shall  be made for any prior period, the court
10    shall consider all relevant facts, including the factors  for
11    determining  the  amount of support specified in the Illinois
12    Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and other  equitable
13    factors including but not limited to:
14             (1)  The  father's  prior  knowledge of the fact and
15        circumstances of the child's birth.
16             (2)  The father's prior willingness  or  refusal  to
17        help raise or support the child.
18             (3)  The  extent  to  which the mother or the public
19        agency bringing the action previously informed the father
20        of the child's needs or attempted to seek or require  his
21        help in raising or supporting the child.
22             (4)  The reasons the mother or the public agency did
23        not file the action earlier.
24             (5)  The   extent  to  which  the  father  would  be
25        prejudiced by the delay in bringing the action.
26        For purposes of determining the amount of  child  support
27    to  be  paid  for  any  period  before the date the order for
28    current child support  is  entered,  there  is  a  rebuttable
29    presumption that the father's net income for the prior period
30    was  the  same  as  his  net income at the time the order for
31    current child support is entered.
32        If (i) the non-custodial parent was properly served  with
33    a  request for discovery of financial information relating to
34    the non-custodial parent's ability to provide child  support,
 
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 1    (ii)  the  non-custodial  parent  failed  to  comply with the
 2    request, despite having been ordered to do so by  the  court,
 3    and  (iii)  the  non-custodial  parent  is not present at the
 4    hearing to determine support despite having  received  proper
 5    notice,  then  any  relevant financial information concerning
 6    the non-custodial parent's ability to provide  child  support
 7    that  was  obtained  pursuant  to  subpoena and proper notice
 8    shall be admitted into evidence without the need to establish
 9    any further foundation for its admission.
10        (c)  Any new or existing support  order  entered  by  the
11    court  under  this  Section shall be deemed to be a series of
12    judgments  against  the  person  obligated  to  pay   support
13    thereunder, each judgment to be in the amount of each payment
14    or installment of support and each such judgment to be deemed
15    entered   as   of  the  date  the  corresponding  payment  or
16    installment becomes due under the terms of the support order.
17    Each  judgment  shall  have  the  full  force,   effect   and
18    attributes of any other judgment of this State, including the
19    ability  to  be  enforced.  A lien arises by operation of law
20    against the real and personal property  of  the  noncustodial
21    parent  for  each  installment of overdue support owed by the
22    noncustodial parent.
23        (d)  If the judgment or order of the court is at variance
24    with the child's birth certificate,  the  court  shall  order
25    that  a  new  birth  certificate  be  issued  under the Vital
26    Records Act.
27        (e)  On request of the mother and the father,  the  court
28    shall  order  a  change  in  the  child's name. After hearing
29    evidence the court may stay payment  of  support  during  the
30    period of the father's minority or period of disability.
31        (f)  If,  upon  a  showing  of proper service, the father
32    fails to appear in court, or otherwise appear as provided  by
33    law,  the  court may proceed to hear the cause upon testimony
34    of the mother or other parties taken in open court and  shall
 
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 1    enter a judgment by default.  The court may reserve any order
 2    as  to  the  amount  of  child  support  until the father has
 3    received notice, by regular mail, of a hearing on the matter.
 4        (g)  A one-time charge  of  20%  is  imposable  upon  the
 5    amount  of  past-due child support owed on July 1, 1988 which
 6    has accrued under a support order entered by the court.   The
 7    charge  shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions of
 8    Section 10-21 of the Illinois Public Aid Code  and  shall  be
 9    enforced by the court upon petition.
10        (h)  All  orders  for  support, when entered or modified,
11    shall include a provision requiring the non-custodial  parent
12    to notify the court and, in cases in which party is receiving
13    child  support  enforcement  services  under Article X of the
14    Illinois Public Aid Code, the Illinois Department  of  Public
15    Aid,  within  7  days, (i) of the name and address of any new
16    employer  of  the  non-custodial  parent,  (ii)  whether  the
17    non-custodial parent has access to health insurance  coverage
18    through  the employer or other group coverage and, if so, the
19    policy name and number and the names of persons covered under
20    the policy, and (iii)  of  any  new  residential  or  mailing
21    address  or telephone number of the non-custodial parent.  In
22    any subsequent action to enforce  a  support  order,  upon  a
23    sufficient  showing  that  a diligent effort has been made to
24    ascertain the location of the non-custodial  parent,  service
25    of  process  or provision of notice necessary in the case may
26    be made at the last known address of the non-custodial parent
27    in any  manner  expressly  provided  by  the  Code  of  Civil
28    Procedure  or this Act, which service shall be sufficient for
29    purposes of due process.
30        (i)  An order for support shall include a date  on  which
31    the  current  support obligation terminates.  The termination
32    date shall be no earlier than the date  on  which  the  child
33    covered  by the order will attain the age of 18.  However, if
34    the child will not graduate  from  high  school  until  after
 
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 1    attaining  the  age of 18, then the termination date shall be
 2    no earlier than the earlier of the date on which the  child's
 3    high  school  graduation  will occur or the date on which the
 4    child will attain the age of 19.  The order for support shall
 5    state that  the  termination  date  does  not  apply  to  any
 6    arrearage  that  may  remain unpaid on that date.  Nothing in
 7    this subsection shall be construed to prevent the court  from
 8    modifying the order or terminating the order in the event the
 9    child is otherwise emancipated.
10        (j)  An  order entered under this Section shall include a
11    provision requiring the obligor to report to the obligee  and
12    to  the  clerk  of court within 10 days each time the obligor
13    obtains  new  employment,  and  each   time   the   obligor's
14    employment  is terminated for any reason. The report shall be
15    in writing and shall, in the case of new employment,  include
16    the  name  and address of the new employer. Failure to report
17    new employment or the termination of current  employment,  if
18    coupled  with nonpayment of support for a period in excess of
19    60 days, is indirect  criminal  contempt.   For  any  obligor
20    arrested  for  failure to report new employment bond shall be
21    set in the amount of the child support that should have  been
22    paid  during  the  period of unreported employment.  An order
23    entered under this Section shall  also  include  a  provision
24    requiring  the  obligor  and  obligee  parents to advise each
25    other of a change in residence within 5 days  of  the  change
26    except  when  the  court  finds that the physical, mental, or
27    emotional health of a party or that  of  a  minor  child,  or
28    both,  would  be  seriously  endangered  by disclosure of the
29    party's address.
30    (Source: P.A.  91-767,  eff.  6-9-00;  92-590,  eff.  7-1-02;
31    92-876, eff. 6-1-03; revised 1-14-03.)