On July 21, 2015, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed Senate Bill 57 into law. The new legislation, which goes into effect on January 1, 2016, amends a great deal of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, which governs family law issues including marriage, separation, divorce, and custody. The Illinois Bar Journal highlighted the significance of changes to the grounds for divorce, property division, child custody and parental relocation.
Grounds for Divorce
Senate Bill 57 eliminates every ground for divorce other than an “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage, which has replaced the concept of irreconcilable differences. Parties can show that there has been an irretrievable breakdown by living separate and apart for six months.
Parties who agree on the divorce will not be required to live separate and apart for 6 months prior to the divorce.
Property Division
The law adjusts some limits, and adds some clarifications, with regard to the division of property. Significantly, the law now requires that courts make specific factual findings, or explanations, for their determination about whether or not assets are marital or non-marital. Courts are similarly required to make findings or support awards as well as property division and allocation.
Child Custody
Senate Bill 57 eliminates the concept of custody from Illinois law, and instead awards or allocates “parenting time” to each of the parents. In order to address decision-making power, the court now can make allocations of parental responsibility in significant issue categories affecting the child such as education, health (including medical, dental, and psychological needs), religion, and extracurricular activities. One parent may have the responsibility for all areas, or the areas may be allocated between the parents – all allocations are made with the best interests of the child standard.
If a parent is not granted responsibility for any of the significant issue categories, they are still entitled to parenting time. According to Senate Bill 57, a parent is entitled to parenting time unless, after a hearing, the court finds that parenting time would seriously endanger the child’s mental, moral, or physical health or significantly impair his or her emotional development.
Parental Relocation
According to current Illinois law, there are no limits on custodial parents relocating with children so long as they stay within the state. In recognition of the fact that relocation within the state may cause as much or more of a change to parenting time as relocation to another state, the new law focuses more on the distance of the move. According to SB 57, parents will be able to move up to 25 or 50 miles – depending on the county in which the custodial parent resides – from their current residence. Those seeking to relocate farther will be required to obtain permission from the court.
The amendment also adjusts the definition of relocation to allow a parent to relocate outside of the Illinois border, so long as the new residence is within 25 or 50 miles (depending on the county of residence) of the current residence, without permission of the court.
If you have questions about family law issues, and how these changes may impact you or your case, contact me today for a consultation.
