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Public Act 100-0422


 

Public Act 0422 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 100-0422
 
SB1261 EnrolledLRB100 10927 HEP 21164 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
Marriage Act is amended by changing Sections 452, 501, 502, and
503 as follows:
 
    (750 ILCS 5/452)
    Sec. 452. Petition. The parties to a dissolution proceeding
may file a joint petition for simplified dissolution if they
certify that all of the following conditions exist when the
proceeding is commenced:
        (a) Neither party is dependent on the other party for
    support or each party is willing to waive the right to
    support; and the parties understand that consultation with
    attorneys may help them determine eligibility for spousal
    support.
        (b) Either party has met the residency or military
    presence requirement of Section 401 of this Act.
        (c) The requirements of Section 401 regarding proof of
    irreconcilable differences have been met.
        (d) No children were born of the relationship of the
    parties or adopted by the parties during the marriage, and
    the wife, to her knowledge, is not pregnant by the husband.
        (e) The duration of the marriage does not exceed 8
    years.
        (f) Neither party has any interest in real property or
    retirement benefits unless the retirement benefits are
    exclusively held in individual retirement accounts and the
    combined value of the accounts is less than $10,000.
        (g) The parties waive any rights to maintenance.
        (h) The total fair market value of all marital
    property, after deducting all encumbrances, is less than
    $50,000, the combined gross annualized income from all
    sources is less than $60,000, and neither party has a gross
    annualized income from all sources in excess of $30,000.
        (i) The parties have disclosed to each other all assets
    and liabilities and their tax returns for all years of the
    marriage.
        (j) The parties have executed a written agreement
    dividing all assets in excess of $100 in value and
    allocating responsibility for debts and liabilities
    between the parties.
        (k) The parties have executed a written agreement
    allocating ownership of and responsibility for any
    companion animals owned by the parties. As used in this
    Section, "companion animal" does not include a service
    animal as defined in Section 2.01c of the Humane Care for
    Animals Act.
(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
    (750 ILCS 5/501)  (from Ch. 40, par. 501)
    Sec. 501. Temporary relief. In all proceedings under this
Act, temporary relief shall be as follows:
    (a) Either party may petition or move for:
        (1) temporary maintenance or temporary support of a
    child of the marriage entitled to support, accompanied by
    an affidavit as to the factual basis for the relief
    requested. One form of financial affidavit, as determined
    by the Supreme Court, shall be used statewide. The
    financial affidavit shall be supported by documentary
    evidence including, but not limited to, income tax returns,
    pay stubs, and banking statements. Unless the court
    otherwise directs, any affidavit or supporting documentary
    evidence submitted pursuant to this paragraph shall not be
    made part of the public record of the proceedings but shall
    be available to the court or an appellate court in which
    the proceedings are subject to review, to the parties,
    their attorneys, and such other persons as the court may
    direct. Upon motion of a party, a court may hold a hearing
    to determine whether and why there is a disparity between a
    party's sworn affidavit and the supporting documentation.
    If a party intentionally or recklessly files an inaccurate
    or misleading financial affidavit, the court shall impose
    significant penalties and sanctions including, but not
    limited to, costs and attorney's fees;
        (2) a temporary restraining order or preliminary
    injunction, accompanied by affidavit showing a factual
    basis for any of the following relief:
            (i) restraining any person from transferring,
        encumbering, concealing or otherwise disposing of any
        property except in the usual course of business or for
        the necessities of life, and, if so restrained,
        requiring him to notify the moving party and his
        attorney of any proposed extraordinary expenditures
        made after the order is issued; however, an order need
        not include an exception for transferring,
        encumbering, or otherwise disposing of property in the
        usual course of business or for the necessities of life
        if the court enters appropriate orders that enable the
        parties to pay their necessary personal and business
        expenses including, but not limited to, appropriate
        professionals to assist the court pursuant to
        subsection (l) of Section 503 to administer the payment
        and accounting of such living and business expenses;
            (ii) enjoining a party from removing a child from
        the jurisdiction of the court for more than 14 days;
            (iii) enjoining a party from striking or
        interfering with the personal liberty of the other
        party or of any child; or
            (iv) providing other injunctive relief proper in
        the circumstances; or
        (3) other appropriate temporary relief including, in
    the discretion of the court, ordering the purchase or sale
    of assets and requiring that a party or parties borrow
    funds in the appropriate circumstances.
    Issues concerning temporary maintenance or temporary
support of a child entitled to support shall be dealt with on a
summary basis based on allocated parenting time, financial
affidavits, tax returns, pay stubs, banking statements, and
other relevant documentation, except an evidentiary hearing
may be held upon a showing of good cause. If a party
intentionally or recklessly files an inaccurate or misleading
financial affidavit, the court shall impose significant
penalties and sanctions including, but not limited to, costs
and attorney's fees resulting from the improper
representation.
    (b) The court may issue a temporary restraining order
without requiring notice to the other party only if it finds,
on the basis of the moving affidavit or other evidence, that
irreparable injury will result to the moving party if no order
is issued until the time for responding has elapsed.
    (c) A response hereunder may be filed within 21 days after
service of notice of motion or at the time specified in the
temporary restraining order.
    (c-1) As used in this subsection (c-1), "interim attorney's
fees and costs" means attorney's fees and costs assessed from
time to time while a case is pending, in favor of the
petitioning party's current counsel, for reasonable fees and
costs either already incurred or to be incurred, and "interim
award" means an award of interim attorney's fees and costs.
Interim awards shall be governed by the following:
        (1) Except for good cause shown, a proceeding for (or
    relating to) interim attorney's fees and costs in a
    pre-judgment dissolution proceeding shall be
    nonevidentiary and summary in nature. All hearings for or
    relating to interim attorney's fees and costs under this
    subsection shall be scheduled expeditiously by the court.
    When a party files a petition for interim attorney's fees
    and costs supported by one or more affidavits that
    delineate relevant factors, the court (or a hearing
    officer) shall assess an interim award after affording the
    opposing party a reasonable opportunity to file a
    responsive pleading. A responsive pleading shall set out
    the amount of each retainer or other payment or payments,
    or both, previously paid to the responding party's counsel
    by or on behalf of the responding party. A responsive
    pleading shall include costs incurred, and shall indicate
    whether the costs are paid or unpaid. In assessing an
    interim award, the court shall consider all relevant
    factors, as presented, that appear reasonable and
    necessary, including to the extent applicable:
            (A) the income and property of each party,
        including alleged marital property within the sole
        control of one party and alleged non-marital property
        within access to a party;
            (B) the needs of each party;
            (C) the realistic earning capacity of each party;
            (D) any impairment to present earning capacity of
        either party, including age and physical and emotional
        health;
            (E) the standard of living established during the
        marriage;
            (F) the degree of complexity of the issues,
        including allocation of parental responsibility,
        valuation or division (or both) of closely held
        businesses, and tax planning, as well as reasonable
        needs for expert investigations or expert witnesses,
        or both;
            (G) each party's access to relevant information;
            (H) the amount of the payment or payments made or
        reasonably expected to be made to the attorney for the
        other party; and
            (I) any other factor that the court expressly finds
        to be just and equitable.
        (2) Any assessment of an interim award (including one
    pursuant to an agreed order) shall be without prejudice to
    any final allocation and without prejudice as to any claim
    or right of either party or any counsel of record at the
    time of the award. Any such claim or right may be presented
    by the appropriate party or counsel at a hearing on
    contribution under subsection (j) of Section 503 or a
    hearing on counsel's fees under subsection (c) of Section
    508. Unless otherwise ordered by the court at the final
    hearing between the parties or in a hearing under
    subsection (j) of Section 503 or subsection (c) of Section
    508, interim awards, as well as the aggregate of all other
    payments by each party to counsel and related payments to
    third parties, shall be deemed to have been advances from
    the parties' marital estate. Any portion of any interim
    award constituting an overpayment shall be remitted back to
    the appropriate party or parties, or, alternatively, to
    successor counsel, as the court determines and directs,
    after notice in a form designated by the Supreme Court. An
    order for the award of interim attorney's fees shall be a
    standardized form order and labeled "Interim Fee Award
    Order".
        (3) In any proceeding under this subsection (c-1), the
    court (or hearing officer) shall assess an interim award
    against an opposing party in an amount necessary to enable
    the petitioning party to participate adequately in the
    litigation, upon findings that the party from whom
    attorney's fees and costs are sought has the financial
    ability to pay reasonable amounts and that the party
    seeking attorney's fees and costs lacks sufficient access
    to assets or income to pay reasonable amounts. In
    determining an award, the court shall consider whether
    adequate participation in the litigation requires
    expenditure of more fees and costs for a party that is not
    in control of assets or relevant information. Except for
    good cause shown, an interim award shall not be less than
    payments made or reasonably expected to be made to the
    counsel for the other party. If the court finds that both
    parties lack financial ability or access to assets or
    income for reasonable attorney's fees and costs, the court
    (or hearing officer) shall enter an order that allocates
    available funds for each party's counsel, including
    retainers or interim payments, or both, previously paid, in
    a manner that achieves substantial parity between the
    parties.
        (4) The changes to this Section 501 made by this
    amendatory Act of 1996 apply to cases pending on or after
    June 1, 1997, except as otherwise provided in Section 508.
    (c-2) Allocation of use of marital residence. Where there
is on file a verified complaint or verified petition seeking
temporary eviction from the marital residence, the court may,
during the pendency of the proceeding, only in cases where the
physical or mental well-being of either spouse or his or her
children is jeopardized by occupancy of the marital residence
by both spouses, and only upon due notice and full hearing,
unless waived by the court on good cause shown, enter orders
granting the exclusive possession of the marital residence to
either spouse, by eviction from, or restoration of, the marital
residence, until the final determination of the cause pursuant
to the factors listed in Section 602.7 of this Act. No such
order shall in any manner affect any estate in homestead
property of either party. In entering orders under this
subsection (c-2), the court shall balance hardships to the
parties.
    (d) A temporary order entered under this Section:
        (1) does not prejudice the rights of the parties or the
    child which are to be adjudicated at subsequent hearings in
    the proceeding;
        (2) may be revoked or modified before final judgment,
    on a showing by affidavit and upon hearing; and
        (3) terminates when the final judgment is entered or
    when the petition for dissolution of marriage or legal
    separation or declaration of invalidity of marriage is
    dismissed.
    (e) The fees or costs of mediation shall be borne by the
parties and may be assessed by the court as it deems equitable
without prejudice and are subject to reallocation at the
conclusion of the case.
    (f) Companion animals. Either party may petition or move
for the temporary allocation of sole or joint possession of and
responsibility for a companion animal jointly owned by the
parties. In issuing an order under this subsection, the court
shall take into consideration the well-being of the companion
animal. As used in this Section, "companion animal" does not
include a service animal as defined in Section 2.01c of the
Humane Care for Animals Act.
(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
    (750 ILCS 5/502)  (from Ch. 40, par. 502)
    Sec. 502. Agreement.
    (a) To promote amicable settlement of disputes between
parties to a marriage attendant upon the dissolution of their
marriage, the parties may enter into an agreement containing
provisions for disposition of any property owned by either of
them, maintenance of either of them, support, parental
responsibility allocation of their children, and support of
their children as provided in Sections 513 and 513.5 after the
children attain majority. The parties may also enter into an
agreement allocating the sole or joint ownership of or
responsibility for a companion animal. As used in this Section,
"companion animal" does not include a service animal as defined
in Section 2.01c of the Humane Care for Animals Act. Any
agreement pursuant to this Section must be in writing, except
for good cause shown with the approval of the court, before
proceeding to an oral prove up.
    (b) The terms of the agreement, except those providing for
the support and parental responsibility allocation of
children, are binding upon the court unless it finds, after
considering the economic circumstances of the parties and any
other relevant evidence produced by the parties, on their own
motion or on request of the court, that the agreement is
unconscionable. The terms of the agreement incorporated into
the judgment are binding if there is any conflict between the
terms of the agreement and any testimony made at an uncontested
prove-up hearing on the grounds or the substance of the
agreement.
    (c) If the court finds the agreement unconscionable, it may
request the parties to submit a revised agreement or upon
hearing, may make orders for the disposition of property,
maintenance, child support and other matters.
    (d) Unless the agreement provides to the contrary, its
terms shall be set forth in the judgment, and the parties shall
be ordered to perform under such terms, or if the agreement
provides that its terms shall not be set forth in the judgment,
the judgment shall identify the agreement and state that the
court has approved its terms.
    (e) Terms of the agreement set forth in the judgment are
enforceable by all remedies available for enforcement of a
judgment, including contempt, and are enforceable as contract
terms.
    (f) Child support, support of children as provided in
Sections 513 and 513.5 after the children attain majority, and
parental responsibility allocation of children may be modified
upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances. The
parties may provide that maintenance is non-modifiable in
amount, duration, or both. If the parties do not provide that
maintenance is non-modifiable in amount, duration, or both,
then those terms are modifiable upon a substantial change of
circumstances. Property provisions of an agreement are never
modifiable. The judgment may expressly preclude or limit
modification of other terms set forth in the judgment if the
agreement so provides. Otherwise, terms of an agreement set
forth in the judgment are automatically modified by
modification of the judgment.
(Source: P.A. 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763, eff. 1-1-17.)
 
    (750 ILCS 5/503)  (from Ch. 40, par. 503)
    Sec. 503. Disposition of property and debts.
    (a) For purposes of this Act, "marital property" means all
property, including debts and other obligations, acquired by
either spouse subsequent to the marriage, except the following,
which is known as "non-marital property":
        (1) property acquired by gift, legacy or descent or
    property acquired in exchange for such property;
        (2) property acquired in exchange for property
    acquired before the marriage;
        (3) property acquired by a spouse after a judgment of
    legal separation;
        (4) property excluded by valid agreement of the
    parties, including a premarital agreement or a postnuptial
    agreement;
        (5) any judgment or property obtained by judgment
    awarded to a spouse from the other spouse except, however,
    when a spouse is required to sue the other spouse in order
    to obtain insurance coverage or otherwise recover from a
    third party and the recovery is directly related to amounts
    advanced by the marital estate, the judgment shall be
    considered marital property;
        (6) property acquired before the marriage, except as it
    relates to retirement plans that may have both marital and
    non-marital characteristics;
        (6.5) all property acquired by a spouse by the sole use
    of non-marital property as collateral for a loan that then
    is used to acquire property during the marriage; to the
    extent that the marital estate repays any portion of the
    loan, it shall be considered a contribution from the
    marital estate to the non-marital estate subject to
    reimbursement;
        (7) the increase in value of non-marital property,
    irrespective of whether the increase results from a
    contribution of marital property, non-marital property,
    the personal effort of a spouse, or otherwise, subject to
    the right of reimbursement provided in subsection (c) of
    this Section; and
        (8) income from property acquired by a method listed in
    paragraphs (1) through (7) of this subsection if the income
    is not attributable to the personal effort of a spouse.
    Property acquired prior to a marriage that would otherwise
be non-marital property shall not be deemed to be marital
property solely because the property was acquired in
contemplation of marriage.
    The court shall make specific factual findings as to its
classification of assets as marital or non-marital property,
values, and other factual findings supporting its property
award.
    (b)(1) For purposes of distribution of property, all
property acquired by either spouse after the marriage and
before a judgment of dissolution of marriage or declaration of
invalidity of marriage is presumed marital property. This
presumption includes non-marital property transferred into
some form of co-ownership between the spouses, regardless of
whether title is held individually or by the spouses in some
form of co-ownership such as joint tenancy, tenancy in common,
tenancy by the entirety, or community property. The presumption
of marital property is overcome by showing through clear and
convincing evidence that the property was acquired by a method
listed in subsection (a) of this Section or was done for estate
or tax planning purposes or for other reasons that establish
that a transfer between spouses was not intended to be a gift.
    (2) For purposes of distribution of property pursuant to
this Section, all pension benefits (including pension benefits
under the Illinois Pension Code, defined benefit plans, defined
contribution plans and accounts, individual retirement
accounts, and non-qualified plans) acquired by or participated
in by either spouse after the marriage and before a judgment of
dissolution of marriage or legal separation or declaration of
invalidity of the marriage are presumed to be marital property.
A spouse may overcome the presumption that these pension
benefits are marital property by showing through clear and
convincing evidence that the pension benefits were acquired by
a method listed in subsection (a) of this Section. The right to
a division of pension benefits in just proportions under this
Section is enforceable under Section 1-119 of the Illinois
Pension Code.
    The value of pension benefits in a retirement system
subject to the Illinois Pension Code shall be determined in
accordance with the valuation procedures established by the
retirement system.
    The recognition of pension benefits as marital property and
the division of those benefits pursuant to a Qualified Illinois
Domestic Relations Order shall not be deemed to be a
diminishment, alienation, or impairment of those benefits. The
division of pension benefits is an allocation of property in
which each spouse has a species of common ownership.
    (3) For purposes of distribution of property under this
Section, all stock options and restricted stock or similar form
of benefit granted to either spouse after the marriage and
before a judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal
separation or declaration of invalidity of marriage, whether
vested or non-vested or whether their value is ascertainable,
are presumed to be marital property. This presumption of
marital property is overcome by a showing that the stock
options or restricted stock or similar form of benefit were
acquired by a method listed in subsection (a) of this Section.
The court shall allocate stock options and restricted stock or
similar form of benefit between the parties at the time of the
judgment of dissolution of marriage or declaration of
invalidity of marriage recognizing that the value of the stock
options and restricted stock or similar form of benefit may not
be then determinable and that the actual division of the
options may not occur until a future date. In making the
allocation between the parties, the court shall consider, in
addition to the factors set forth in subsection (d) of this
Section, the following:
        (i) All circumstances underlying the grant of the stock
    option and restricted stock or similar form of benefit
    including but not limited to the vesting schedule, whether
    the grant was for past, present, or future efforts, whether
    the grant is designed to promote future performance or
    employment, or any combination thereof.
        (ii) The length of time from the grant of the option to
    the time the option is exercisable.
    (b-5) As to any existing policy of life insurance insuring
the life of either spouse, or any interest in such policy, that
constitutes marital property, whether whole life, term life,
group term life, universal life, or other form of life
insurance policy, and whether or not the value is
ascertainable, the court shall allocate ownership, death
benefits or the right to assign death benefits, and the
obligation for premium payments, if any, equitably between the
parties at the time of the judgment for dissolution or
declaration of invalidity of marriage.
    (c) Commingled marital and non-marital property shall be
treated in the following manner, unless otherwise agreed by the
spouses:
        (1)(A) If marital and non-marital property are
    commingled by one estate being contributed into the other,
    the following shall apply:
            (i) If the contributed property loses its
        identity, the contributed property transmutes to the
        estate receiving the property, subject to the
        provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection (c).
            (ii) If the contributed property retains its
        identity, it does not transmute and remains property of
        the contributing estate.
        (B) If marital and non-marital property are commingled
    into newly acquired property resulting in a loss of
    identity of the contributing estates, the commingled
    property shall be deemed transmuted to marital property,
    subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of this
    subsection (c).
        (2)(A) When one estate of property makes a contribution
    to another estate of property, the contributing estate
    shall be reimbursed from the estate receiving the
    contribution notwithstanding any transmutation. No such
    reimbursement shall be made with respect to a contribution
    that is not traceable by clear and convincing evidence or
    that was a gift. The court may provide for reimbursement
    out of the marital property to be divided or by imposing a
    lien against the non-marital property that received the
    contribution.
        (B) When a spouse contributes personal effort to
    non-marital property, it shall be deemed a contribution
    from the marital estate, which shall receive reimbursement
    for the efforts if the efforts are significant and result
    in substantial appreciation to the non-marital property
    except that if the marital estate reasonably has been
    compensated for his or her efforts, it shall not be deemed
    a contribution to the marital estate and there shall be no
    reimbursement to the marital estate. The court may provide
    for reimbursement out of the marital property to be divided
    or by imposing a lien against the non-marital property
    which received the contribution.
    (d) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or
declaration of invalidity of marriage, or in a proceeding for
disposition of property following dissolution of marriage by a
court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse
or lacked jurisdiction to dispose of the property, the court
shall assign each spouse's non-marital property to that spouse.
It also shall divide the marital property without regard to
marital misconduct in just proportions considering all
relevant factors, including:
        (1) each party's contribution to the acquisition,
    preservation, or increase or decrease in value of the
    marital or non-marital property, including (i) any
    decrease attributable to an advance from the parties'
    marital estate under subsection (c-1)(2) of Section 501;
    (ii) the contribution of a spouse as a homemaker or to the
    family unit; and (iii) whether the contribution is after
    the commencement of a proceeding for dissolution of
    marriage or declaration of invalidity of marriage;
        (2) the dissipation by each party of the marital
    property, provided that a party's claim of dissipation is
    subject to the following conditions:
            (i) a notice of intent to claim dissipation shall
        be given no later than 60 days before trial or 30 days
        after discovery closes, whichever is later;
            (ii) the notice of intent to claim dissipation
        shall contain, at a minimum, a date or period of time
        during which the marriage began undergoing an
        irretrievable breakdown, an identification of the
        property dissipated, and a date or period of time
        during which the dissipation occurred;
            (iii) a certificate or service of the notice of
        intent to claim dissipation shall be filed with the
        clerk of the court and be served pursuant to applicable
        rules;
            (iv) no dissipation shall be deemed to have
        occurred prior to 3 years after the party claiming
        dissipation knew or should have known of the
        dissipation, but in no event prior to 5 years before
        the filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage;
        (3) the value of the property assigned to each spouse;
        (4) the duration of the marriage;
        (5) the relevant economic circumstances of each spouse
    when the division of property is to become effective,
    including the desirability of awarding the family home, or
    the right to live therein for reasonable periods, to the
    spouse having the primary residence of the children;
        (6) any obligations and rights arising from a prior
    marriage of either party;
        (7) any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement of the
    parties;
        (8) the age, health, station, occupation, amount and
    sources of income, vocational skills, employability,
    estate, liabilities, and needs of each of the parties;
        (9) the custodial provisions for any children;
        (10) whether the apportionment is in lieu of or in
    addition to maintenance;
        (11) the reasonable opportunity of each spouse for
    future acquisition of capital assets and income; and
        (12) the tax consequences of the property division upon
    the respective economic circumstances of the parties.
    (e) Each spouse has a species of common ownership in the
marital property which vests at the time dissolution
proceedings are commenced and continues only during the
pendency of the action. Any such interest in marital property
shall not encumber that property so as to restrict its
transfer, assignment or conveyance by the title holder unless
such title holder is specifically enjoined from making such
transfer, assignment or conveyance.
    (f) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or
declaration of invalidity of marriage or in a proceeding for
disposition of property following dissolution of marriage by a
court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse
or lacked jurisdiction to dispose of the property, the court,
in determining the value of the marital and non-marital
property for purposes of dividing the property, has the
discretion to use the date of the trial or such other date as
agreed upon by the parties, or ordered by the court within its
discretion, for purposes of determining the value of assets or
property.
    (g) The court if necessary to protect and promote the best
interests of the children may set aside a portion of the
jointly or separately held estates of the parties in a separate
fund or trust for the support, maintenance, education, physical
and mental health, and general welfare of any minor, dependent,
or incompetent child of the parties. In making a determination
under this subsection, the court may consider, among other
things, the conviction of a party of any of the offenses set
forth in Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60,
12-3.3, 12-4, 12-4.1, 12-4.2, 12-4.3, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1,
12-15, or 12-16, or Section 12-3.05 except for subdivision
(a)(4) or (g)(1), of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal
Code of 2012 if the victim is a child of one or both of the
parties, and there is a need for, and cost of, care, healing
and counseling for the child who is the victim of the crime.
    (h) Unless specifically directed by a reviewing court, or
upon good cause shown, the court shall not on remand consider
any increase or decrease in the value of any "marital" or
"non-marital" property occurring since the assessment of such
property at the original trial or hearing, but shall use only
that assessment made at the original trial or hearing.
    (i) The court may make such judgments affecting the marital
property as may be just and may enforce such judgments by
ordering a sale of marital property, with proceeds therefrom to
be applied as determined by the court.
    (j) After proofs have closed in the final hearing on all
other issues between the parties (or in conjunction with the
final hearing, if all parties so stipulate) and before judgment
is entered, a party's petition for contribution to fees and
costs incurred in the proceeding shall be heard and decided, in
accordance with the following provisions:
        (1) A petition for contribution, if not filed before
    the final hearing on other issues between the parties,
    shall be filed no later than 14 days after the closing of
    proofs in the final hearing or within such other period as
    the court orders.
        (2) Any award of contribution to one party from the
    other party shall be based on the criteria for division of
    marital property under this Section 503 and, if maintenance
    has been awarded, on the criteria for an award of
    maintenance under Section 504.
        (3) The filing of a petition for contribution shall not
    be deemed to constitute a waiver of the attorney-client
    privilege between the petitioning party and current or
    former counsel; and such a waiver shall not constitute a
    prerequisite to a hearing for contribution. If either
    party's presentation on contribution, however, includes
    evidence within the scope of the attorney-client
    privilege, the disclosure or disclosures shall be narrowly
    construed and shall not be deemed by the court to
    constitute a general waiver of the privilege as to matters
    beyond the scope of the presentation.
        (4) No finding on which a contribution award is based
    or denied shall be asserted against counsel or former
    counsel for purposes of any hearing under subsection (c) or
    (e) of Section 508.
        (5) A contribution award (payable to either the
    petitioning party or the party's counsel, or jointly, as
    the court determines) may be in the form of either a set
    dollar amount or a percentage of fees and costs (or a
    portion of fees and costs) to be subsequently agreed upon
    by the petitioning party and counsel or, alternatively,
    thereafter determined in a hearing pursuant to subsection
    (c) of Section 508 or previously or thereafter determined
    in an independent proceeding under subsection (e) of
    Section 508.
        (6) The changes to this Section 503 made by this
    amendatory Act of 1996 apply to cases pending on or after
    June 1, 1997, except as otherwise provided in Section 508.
    (k) In determining the value of assets or property under
this Section, the court shall employ a fair market value
standard. The date of valuation for the purposes of division of
assets shall be the date of trial or such other date as agreed
by the parties or ordered by the court, within its discretion.
If the court grants a petition brought under Section 2-1401 of
the Code of Civil Procedure, then the court has the discretion
to use the date of the trial or such other date as agreed upon
by the parties, or ordered by the court within its discretion,
for purposes of determining the value of assets or property.
    (l) The court may seek the advice of financial experts or
other professionals, whether or not employed by the court on a
regular basis. The advice given shall be in writing and made
available by the court to counsel. Counsel may examine as a
witness any professional consulted by the court designated as
the court's witness. Professional personnel consulted by the
court are subject to subpoena for the purposes of discovery,
trial, or both. The court shall allocate the costs and fees of
those professional personnel between the parties based upon the
financial ability of each party and any other criteria the
court considers appropriate, and the allocation is subject to
reallocation under subsection (a) of Section 508. Upon the
request of any party or upon the court's own motion, the court
may conduct a hearing as to the reasonableness of those fees
and costs.
    (m) The changes made to this Section by Public Act 97-941
apply only to petitions for dissolution of marriage filed on or
after January 1, 2013 (the effective date of Public Act
97-941).
    (n) If the court finds that a companion animal of the
parties is a marital asset, it shall allocate the sole or joint
ownership of and responsibility for a companion animal of the
parties. In issuing an order under this subsection, the court
shall take into consideration the well-being of the companion
animal. As used in this Section, "companion animal" does not
include a service animal as defined in Section 2.01c of the
Humane Care for Animals Act.
(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-90, eff. 1-1-16; 99-763,
eff. 1-1-17.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2018