HB5176 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 20262 JRC 33713 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5176

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Anne Stava

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Family Law Definitions Act. Defines and requires the use of the terms "high conflict", "parental alienation", and "safe parent" in family law cases. Provides that no alternative similar terms may be used or invented if their use or interpretation has the purpose or effect of evading compliance with these definitions. Provides that failure by a court to apply these definitions, if applicable, is reversible legal error and is cause for an appeal.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning civil law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Family Law Definitions Act.

Section 5. Findings and purpose. The General Assembly finds that certain terms are used commonly in many family court proceedings that do not have clear and consistent meanings. These terms have significant implications for both parents and children and should not be used casually. Establishing consistent definitions for these terms will enhance the ability of the family law system to reach outcomes that best support the safety, health, and best interests of all parties.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) A parent shall be designated as a "safe parent" if and only if the parent:

(1) does not neglect or abuse the child;

(2) does not abuse the other parent;

(3) has not previously neglected or abused the child or the other parent, absent a positive assessment, on the record, by a qualified physician who has been the abuser's primary behavioral health provider for at least one year, based on specific and articulable facts, that all of the following are true:

(A) the abuse was the result of a behavioral health disorder or psychological or neurological condition;

(B) the abuser has successfully completed treatment or is satisfactorily complying with ongoing or indefinite treatment, with at least a 12-month unbroken history of such compliance; and

(C) the abuse is unlikely to continue or to recur;

(4) is judged by court-appointed officers, acting as required by this Act, to be capable of safely interacting with and caring for the child without supervision;

(5) is not the respondent to any order of protection, presently in effect, which is sustained after a hearing; and

(6) is not under the care of a mental health provider for a serious behavioral, psychological, or emotional condition that the court, in consultation with the diagnosing provider, deems to pose a potential risk to the child.

(b) An act or statement shall be deemed "parental alienation" if and only if:

(1) all of the following criteria are met:

(i) it has the purpose or effect of seeking, without good cause, to separate, estrange, or emotionally distance the child from a safe parent;

(ii) it has the purpose or effect of influencing the child in such a way that the child's opinion of a safe parent is diminished or shaped in bad faith and is defamatory or libelous, factually selective or obfuscating, or age-inappropriate;

(iii) it is not reasonably related to and a plausibly necessary part of good faith efforts by a safe parent to preserve or achieve the safety and mental and emotional health of the child;

(2) if the act or statement is directed at or concerns a parent who is not a safe parent, that parent does not demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the act or statement was unnecessary and unrelated to the safety or welfare of the child;

(3) if a statement, it was objectively false or misleading or was made with reckless disregard for the truth.

(c) A parent's behavior shall be deemed "high conflict" if and only if all of the following criteria are met, based on specific and articulable facts within the context:

(1) it is obstreperous, combative, petty, or injudicious;

(2) it constitutes arbitrary opposition to the other parent's time with or access to the child when such conduct is not reasonably justified by facts or safety concerns;

(3) it is not the behavior of a safe parent; and

(4) it is not a reaction arising from abuse trauma, fear of or negative reaction to a current or former abuser, distress, PTSD, depression, or anxiety.

If abuse or continued risk of abuse by the other parent of the parent in question is indicated by a preponderance of the evidence, the abuser has not rebutted, by clear and convincing evidence, a default presumption that criteria (1) through (4) of this subsection (c) are not met.

Section 15. Required terms.

(a) The definitions established in this Act must be used and applied as applicable in all family law proceedings in this State.

(b) No alternative similar terms may be used or invented if their use or interpretation has the purpose or effect of evading compliance with these definitions.

(c) Failure by a court to apply these definitions, if applicable, constitutes reversible legal error and gives rise to a cause for appeal.