HB1699sam001 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. A. J. Wilhelmi

Filed: 5/10/2011

09700HB1699sam001 LRB097 07861 AJO 55213 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1699

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1699 on page 1, by replacing lines 4 and 5 with the following:

"Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Sections 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 as follows:

(750 ILCS 50/5) (from Ch. 40, par. 1507)

Sec. 5. Petition, contents, verification, filing.

A. A proceeding to adopt a child, other than a related child, shall be commenced by the filing of a petition within 30 days after such child has become available for adoption, provided that such petition may be filed at a later date by leave of court upon a showing that the failure to file such petition within such 30 day period was not due to the petitioners' culpable negligence or their wilful disregard of the provisions of this Section. In the case of a child born outside the United States or a territory thereof, if the prospective adoptive parents of such child have been appointed guardians of such child by a court of competent jurisdiction in a country other than the United States or a territory thereof, such parents shall file a petition as provided in this Section within 30 days after entry of the child into the United States. A petition to adopt an adult or a related child may be filed at any time. A petition for adoption may include more than one person sought to be adopted.

B. A petition to adopt a child other than a related child shall state:

(a) The full names of the petitioners and, if minors, their respective ages;

(b) The place of residence of the petitioners and the length of residence of each in the State of Illinois immediately preceding the filing of the petition;

(c) When the petitioners acquired, or intend to acquire, custody of the child, and the name and address of the persons or agency from whom the child was or will be received;

(d) The name, the place and date of birth if known, and the sex of the child sought to be adopted;

(e) The relationship, if any, of the child to each petitioner;

(f) The names, if known, and the place of residence, if known, of the parents; and whether such parents are minors, or otherwise under any legal disability. The names and addresses of the parents shall be omitted and they shall not be made parties defendant to the petition if (1) the rights of the parents have been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction, or (2) if the child has been surrendered to an agency, or (3) if the parent or parents have been served with the notice provided in Section 12a of this Act and said parent or parents have filed a disclaimer of paternity as therein provided or have failed to file such declaration of paternity or a request for notice as provided in said Section, or (4) the parent is a putative father or legal father of the child who has waived his parental rights by signing a waiver as provided in subsection S of Section 10;

(g) If it is alleged that the child has no living parent, then the name of the guardian, if any, of such child and the court which appointed such guardian;

(h) If it is alleged that the child has no living parent and that no guardian of such child is known to petitioners, then the name of a near relative, if known, shall be set forth, or an allegation that no near relative is known and on due inquiry cannot be ascertained by petitioners;

(i) The name to be given the child or adult;

(j) That the person or agency, having authority to consent under Section 8 of this Act, has consented, or has indicated willingness to consent, to the adoption of the child by the petitioners, or that the person having authority to consent is an unfit person and the ground therefor, or that no consent is required under paragraph (f) of Section 8 of this Act;

(k) Whatever orders, judgments or decrees have heretofore been entered by any court affecting (1) adoption or custody of the child, or (2) the adoptive, custodial or parental rights of either petitioner, including the prior denial of any petition for adoption pertaining to such child, or to the petitioners, or either of them.

C. A petition to adopt a related child shall include the information specified in sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (i) and (k) of paragraph B and a petition to adopt an adult shall contain the information required by sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (i) of paragraph B in addition to the name, place, date of birth and sex of such adult.

D. The petition shall be verified by the petitioners.

E. Upon the filing of the petition the petitioners shall furnish the Clerk of the Court in which the petition is pending such information not contained in such petition as shall be necessary to enable the Clerk of such Court to complete a certificate of adoption as hereinafter provided.

F. A petition for standby adoption shall conform to the requirements of this Act with respect to petition contents, verification, and filing. The petition for standby adoption shall also state the facts concerning the consent of the child's parent to the standby adoption. A petition for standby adoption shall include the information in paragraph B if the petitioner seeks to adopt a child other than a related child. A petition for standby adoption shall include the information in paragraph C if the petitioner seeks to adopt a related child or adult.

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 91-572, eff. 1-1-00.)

(750 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 40, par. 1510)

Sec. 8. Consents to adoption and surrenders for purposes of adoption.

(a) Except as hereinafter provided in this Section consents or surrenders shall be required in all cases, unless the person whose consent or surrender would otherwise be required shall be found by the court:

(1) to be an unfit person as defined in Section 1 of this Act, by clear and convincing evidence; or

(2) not to be the biological or adoptive father of the child; or

(3) to have waived his parental rights to the child under Section 12a or 12.1 or subsection S of Section 10 of this Act; or

(4) to be the parent of an adult sought to be adopted; or

(5) to be the father of the child as a result of criminal sexual abuse or assault as defined under Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961; or

(6) to be the father of a child who:

(i) is a family member of the mother of the child, and the mother is under the age of 18 at the time of the child's conception; for purposes of this subsection, a "family member" is a parent, step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, sibling, or cousin of the first degree, whether by whole blood, half-blood, or adoption, as well as a person age 18 or over at the time of the child's conception who has resided in the household with the mother continuously for at least one year; or

(ii) is at least 5 years older than the child's mother, and the mother was under the age of 17 at the time of the child's conception, unless the mother and father voluntarily acknowledge the father's paternity of the child by marrying or by establishing the father's paternity by consent of the parties pursuant to the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or pursuant to a substantially similar statute in another state.

A criminal conviction of any offense pursuant to Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961 is not required.

(b) Where consents are required in the case of an adoption of a minor child, the consents of the following persons shall be sufficient:

(1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and

(B) The father of the minor child, if the father:

(i) was married to the mother on the date of birth of the child or within 300 days before the birth of the child, except for a husband or former husband who has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction not to be the biological father of the child; or

(ii) is the father of the child under a judgment for adoption, an order of parentage, or an acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984; or

(iii) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents less than 6 months after birth, openly lived with the child, the child's biological mother, or both, and held himself out to be the child's biological father during the first 30 days following the birth of the child; or

(iv) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents less than 6 months after birth, made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide a reasonable amount for the financial support of the child before the expiration of 30 days following the birth of the child, provided that the court may consider in its determination all relevant circumstances, including the financial condition of both biological parents; or

(v) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents more than 6 months after birth, has maintained substantial and continuous or repeated contact with the child as manifested by: (I) the payment by the father toward the support of the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according to the father's means, and either (II) the father's visiting the child at least monthly when physically and financially able to do so and not prevented from doing so by the person or authorized agency having lawful custody of the child, or (III) the father's regular communication with the child or with the person or agency having the care or custody of the child, when physically and financially unable to visit the child or prevented from doing so by the person or authorized agency having lawful custody of the child. The subjective intent of the father, whether expressed or otherwise unsupported by evidence of acts specified in this sub-paragraph as manifesting such intent, shall not preclude a determination that the father failed to maintain substantial and continuous or repeated contact with the child; or

(vi) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents more than six months after birth, openly lived with the child for a period of six months within the one year period immediately preceding the placement of the child for adoption and openly held himself out to be the father of the child; or

(vii) has timely registered with Putative Father Registry, as provided in Section 12.1 of this Act, and prior to the expiration of 30 days from the date of such registration, commenced legal proceedings to establish paternity under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or under the law of the jurisdiction of the child's birth; or

(2) The legal guardian of the person of the child, if there is no surviving parent; or

(3) An agency, if the child has been surrendered for adoption to such agency; or

(4) Any person or agency having legal custody of a child by court order if the parental rights of the parents have been judicially terminated, and the court having jurisdiction of the guardianship of the child has authorized the consent to the adoption; or

(5) The execution and verification of the petition by any petitioner who is also a parent of the child sought to be adopted shall be sufficient evidence of such parent's consent to the adoption.

(c) Where surrenders to an agency are required in the case of a placement for adoption of a minor child by an agency, the surrenders of the following persons shall be sufficient:

(1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and

(B) The father of the minor child, if the father:

(i) was married to the mother on the date of birth of the child or within 300 days before the birth of the child, except for a husband or former husband who has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction not to be the biological father of the child; or

(ii) is the father of the child under a judgment for adoption, an order of parentage, or an acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984; or

(iii) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents less than 6 months after birth, openly lived with the child, the child's biological mother, or both, and held himself out to be the child's biological father during the first 30 days following the birth of a child; or

(iv) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents less than 6 months after birth, made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount of the expenses related to the birth of the child and to provide a reasonable amount for the financial support of the child before the expiration of 30 days following the birth of the child, provided that the court may consider in its determination all relevant circumstances, including the financial condition of both biological parents; or

(v) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents more than six months after birth, has maintained substantial and continuous or repeated contact with the child as manifested by: (I) the payment by the father toward the support of the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according to the father's means, and either (II) the father's visiting the child at least monthly when physically and financially able to do so and not prevented from doing so by the person or authorized agency having lawful custody of the child or (III) the father's regular communication with the child or with the person or agency having the care or custody of the child, when physically and financially unable to visit the child or prevented from doing so by the person or authorized agency having lawful custody of the child. The subjective intent of the father, whether expressed or otherwise, unsupported by evidence of acts specified in this sub-paragraph as manifesting such intent, shall not preclude a determination that the father failed to maintain substantial and continuous or repeated contact with the child; or

(vi) in the case of a child placed with the adopting parents more than six months after birth, openly lived with the child for a period of six months within the one year period immediately preceding the placement of the child for adoption and openly held himself out to be the father of the child; or

(vii) has timely registered with the Putative Father Registry, as provided in Section 12.1 of this Act, and prior to the expiration of 30 days from the date of such registration, commenced legal proceedings to establish paternity under the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or under the law of the jurisdiction of the child's birth.

(d) In making a determination under subparagraphs (b)(1) and (c)(1), no showing shall be required of diligent efforts by a person or agency to encourage the father to perform the acts specified therein.

(e) In the case of the adoption of an adult, only the consent of such adult shall be required.

(Source: P.A. 93-510, eff. 1-1-04; 94-530, eff. 1-1-06.)

(750 ILCS 50/9) (from Ch. 40, par. 1511)

Sec. 9. Time for signing a waiver, taking a consent, or surrender.

A. A consent or a surrender signed taken not less than 72 hours after the birth of the child is irrevocable except as provided in Section 11 of this Act.

B. No consent or surrender shall be signed taken within the 72 hour period immediately following the birth of the child.

C. A consent or a surrender may be signed by taken from the father prior to the birth of the child. Such consent or surrender shall be revoked if, within 72 hours after the birth of the child, the father who gave such consent or surrender, notifies in writing the person, agency or court representative who acknowledged took the surrender or consent or any individual representing or connected with such person, agency or court representative of the revocation of the consent or surrender.

D. Any consent or surrender signed taken in accordance with paragraph C above which is not revoked within 72 hours after the birth of the child is irrevocable except as provided in Section 11 of this Act.

E. Consent may be given to a standby adoption by a parent whose consent is required pursuant to Section 8 of this Act to become effective when the consenting parent of the child dies or that parent requests that the final judgment of adoption be entered.

F. A waiver as provided in subsection S of Section 10 of this Act may be signed by a putative father or legal father of the child at any time prior to or after the birth of the child. A waiver is irrevocable except as provided in Section 11 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-732, eff. 1-1-05.)"; and

on page 32, below line 25, by inserting the following:

"(750 ILCS 50/11) (from Ch. 40, par. 1513)

Sec. 11. Consents, surrenders, waivers, irrevocability.

(a) A consent to adoption or standby adoption by a parent, including a minor, executed and acknowledged in accordance with the provisions of Section 10 8 of this Act, or a surrender of a child by a parent, including a minor, to an agency for the purpose of adoption shall be irrevocable unless it shall have been obtained by fraud or duress on the part of the person before whom such consent, surrender, or other document equivalent to a surrender is acknowledged pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 of this Act or on the part of the adopting parents or their agents and a court of competent jurisdiction shall so find. No action to void or revoke a consent to or surrender for adoption, including an action based on fraud or duress, may be commenced after 12 months from the date the consent or surrender was executed. The consent or surrender of a parent who is a minor shall not be voidable because of such minority.

(a-1) A waiver signed by a putative or legal father, including a minor, executed and acknowledged in accordance with Section 10 of this Act, shall be irrevocable unless it shall have been obtained by fraud or duress on the part of the adopting parents or their agents and a court of competent jurisdiction shall so find. No action to void a waiver may be commenced after 12 months from the date the waiver was executed. The waiver of a putative or legal father who is a minor shall not be voidable because of such minority.

(b) The petitioners in an adoption proceeding are entitled to rely upon a sworn statement of the biological mother of the child to be adopted identifying the father of her child. The affidavit shall be conclusive evidence as to the biological mother regarding the facts stated therein, and shall create a rebuttable presumption of truth as to the biological father only. Except as provided in Section 11 of this Act, the biological mother of the child shall be permanently barred from attacking the proceeding thereafter. The biological mother shall execute such affidavit in writing and under oath. The affidavit shall be executed by the biological mother before or at the time of execution of the consent or surrender, and shall be retained by the court and be a part of the Court's files. The form of affidavit shall be substantially as follows:

AFFIDAVIT OF IDENTIFICATION

I, ................., the mother of a (male or female) child, state under oath or affirm as follows:

(1) That the child was born, or is expected to be born, on (insert date), at ......................., in the State of ...................

(2) That I reside at .................., in the City or Village of ..........., State of ...................

(3) That I am of the age of ....... years.

(4) That I acknowledge that I have been asked to identify the father of my child.

(5) (CHECK ONE)

.... I know and am identifying the biological father.

.... I do not know the identity of the biological father.

.... I am unwilling to identify the biological father.

(6A) If I know and am identifying the father:

That the name of the biological father is ....................; his last known home address is ............; his last known work address is ....................; and he is ..... years of age; or he is deceased, having died on (insert date) at .............., in the State of ..................

(6B) If I do not know the identity of the biological father:

I do not know who the biological father is; the following is an explanation of why I am unable to identify him:

.............................................................

.............................................................

..............................................................

(6C) If I am unwilling to identify the biological father:

I do not wish to name the biological father of the child for the following reasons:

.............................................................

.............................................................

.............................................................

(7) The physical description of the biological father is: .

.............................................................

.............................................................

(8) I reaffirm that the information contained in paragraphs 5, 6, and 7, inclusive, is true and correct.

(9) I have been informed and understand that if I am unwilling, refuse to identify, or misidentify the biological father of the child, absent fraud or duress, I am permanently barred from attacking the proceedings for the adoption of the child at any time after I sign a final and irrevocable consent to adoption or surrender for purposes of adoption.

(10) I have read this Affidavit and have had the opportunity to review and question it; it was explained to me by ............................; and I am signing it as my free and voluntary act and understand the contents and the results of signing it.

Dated (insert date).

...................................

Signature

Under penalties as provided by law under Section 1-109 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the undersigned certifies that the statements set forth in this Affidavit are true and correct.

...................................

Signature

(Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 91-572, eff. 1-1-00.)".