Bill Text: IL HB4124 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Makes a technical change in the short title Section.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Failed) 2014-12-03 - Session Sine Die [HB4124 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HB4124-Engrossed.html

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HB4124 Engrossed LRB098 15680 RPS 50711 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. If and only if House Bill 1452 of the 98th
General Assembly becomes law, the Illinois Marriage and
Dissolution of Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 102
as follows:
(750 ILCS 5/102) (from Ch. 40, par. 102)
Sec. 102. Purposes; Rules of Construction. This Act shall
be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying
purposes, which are to:
(1) provide adequate procedures for the solemnization and
registration of marriage;
(2) strengthen and preserve the integrity of marriage and
safeguard family relationships;
(3) promote the amicable settlement of disputes that have
arisen between parties to a marriage;
(4) mitigate the potential harm to spouses and their
children caused by the process of an action brought under this
Act, and protect children from exposure to conflict and
violence;
(5) ensure predictable decision-making for the care of
children and for the allocation of parenting time and other

HB4124 Engrossed - 2 - LRB098 15680 RPS 50711 b
parental responsibilities, and avoid prolonged uncertainty by
expeditiously resolving issues involving children;
(6) recognize the right of children to a healthy
relationship with parents, and the responsibility of parents to
ensure such a relationship;
(7) acknowledge that the determination of children's best
interests, and the allocation of parenting time and significant
decision-making responsibilities, are among the paramount
responsibilities of our system of justice, and to that end:
(A) recognize children's right to a strong and healthy
relationship with parents, and parents' concomitant right
and responsibility to create and maintain such
relationships;
(B) recognize that, in the absence of domestic violence
or any other factor that the court expressly finds to be
relevant, proximity to, and frequent contact with, both
parents promotes healthy development of children;
(C) facilitate parental planning and agreement about
the children's upbringing and allocation of parenting time
and other parental responsibilities;
(D) continue existing parent-child relationships, and
secure the maximum involvement and cooperation of parents
regarding the physical, mental, moral, and emotional
well-being of the children during and after the litigation;
and
(D-5) recognize that, in order to maximize the

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

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