More Changes to Illinois Family Laws

 Posted on December 21, 2016 in Family Law

On January 1, 2017, a new law will go into effect in Illinois with a section that specifically addresses the parentage of children of assisted reproduction. Public Act 099-0763 amends the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (IMDMA) and the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015 clarifying certain sections which lawmakers felt were needed after last year’s major overhaul of both Acts.

Children of Assisted Reproduction

Over the past few years, there have been several high-profile legal cases regarding child custody and parental responsibility regarding children of assisted reproduction. Under the new measure, any individual who is an intended parent is the legal parent of any resulting child. The new law clearly specifies legal parentage and responsibility as follows:

• If the donor and the intended parent – both represented by legal counsel – have entered a valid agreement whereby the donor gives up all parental rights to the child, then the intended parent is the legal parent; and
• If a person makes an anonymous gamete donation, there is no designated intended parent at the time, and they gave up their parental rights in writing at the time of the donation, then the intended parent is the parent of any child that results in that donation.

More Changes

Public Act 099-0763 brings other changes to Illinois in the areas of adoption and child support.

The Illinois Adoption Act will be amended to include the following provisions:

• Adoptive parents must be told the reason(s) why the birth parents are placing their child for adoption;
• The adoptive parents must also be told how they were selected, why they were selected, and who made that decision; and
• The adoptive parents must also be informed if there was any formal request by the birth parents for future post-birth contact.

Child support in Illinois will now be calculated using the income share model instead of the percentage of income model, however this change will not take effect until July 1, 2017. The court will combine both parents’ incomes and then decide which percentage the obligor parent should pay. The idea behind this model is the belief of the family courts that the income shares model is much closer to the standard the child would have been living if the parents had remained together.

Contact an Illinois Family Law Attorney

Illinois family law issues can be complicated and overwhelming, and it is often critical to your case to have a skilled family law attorney representing you. If you are facing problems with any of these issues, contact an experienced Kane County family law attorney today.

Source:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/99/PDF/099-0763.pdf