Public Act 093-0911
 
HB4318 Enrolled LRB093 20401 LCB 46179 b

    AN ACT concerning visitation.
 
    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 Section 607 as follows:
 
    (750 ILCS 5/607)  (from Ch. 40, par. 607)
    Sec. 607. Visitation.
    (a) A parent not granted custody of the child is entitled
to reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds, after a
hearing, that visitation would endanger seriously the child's
physical, mental, moral or emotional health. If the custodian's
street address is not identified, pursuant to Section 708, the
court shall require the parties to identify reasonable
alternative arrangements for visitation by a non-custodial
parent, including but not limited to visitation of the minor
child at the residence of another person or at a local public
or private facility.
    (a-3) Nothing in subsection (a-5) of this Section shall
apply to a child in whose interests a petition under Section
2-13 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is pending.
    (a-5)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection
(a-5), any grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling may file
a petition for visitation rights to a minor child if there is
an unreasonable denial of visitation by a parent and at least
one of the following conditions exists:
        (A) one parent of the child is incompetent as a matter
    of law or deceased or has been sentenced to a period of
    imprisonment for more than 1 year;
        (B) the child's mother and father are divorced or have
    been legally separated from each other during the 3 month
    period prior to the filing of the petition and at least one
    parent does not object to the grandparent,
    great-grandparent, or sibling having visitation with the
    child. The visitation of the grandparent,
    great-grandparent, or sibling must not diminish the
    visitation of the parent who is not related to the
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling seeking
    visitation;
        (C) the court, other than a Juvenile Court, has
    terminated a parent-child relationship and the
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling is the parent
    of the person whose parental rights have been terminated,
    except in cases of adoption. The visitation must not be
    used to allow the parent who lost parental rights to
    unlawfully visit with the child;
        (D) the child is illegitimate, the parents are not
    living together, and the petitioner is a maternal
    grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the
    illegitimate child; or
        (E) the child is illegitimate, the parents are not
    living together, the petitioner is a paternal grandparent,
    great-grandparent, or sibling, and the paternity has been
    established by a court of competent jurisdiction.
    (2) The grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of a
parent whose parental rights have been terminated through an
adoption proceeding may not petition for visitation rights.
    (3) In making a determination under this subsection (a-5),
there is a rebuttable presumption that a fit parent's actions
and decisions regarding grandparent, great-grandparent, or
sibling visitation are not harmful to the child's mental,
physical, or emotional health. The burden is on the party
filing a petition under this Section to prove that the parent's
actions and decisions regarding visitation times are harmful to
the child's mental, physical, or emotional health.
    (4) In determining whether to grant visitation, the court
shall consider the following:
        (A) the preference of the child if the child is
    determined to be of sufficient maturity to express a
    preference;
        (B) the mental and physical health of the child;
        (C) the mental and physical health of the grandparent,
    great-grandparent, or sibling;
        (D) the length and quality of the prior relationship
    between the child and the grandparent, great-grandparent,
    or sibling;
        (E) the good faith of the party in filing the petition;
        (F) the good faith of the person denying visitation;
        (G) the quantity of the visitation time requested and
    the potential adverse impact that visitation would have on
    the child's customary activities;
        (H) whether the child resided with the petitioner for
    at least 6 consecutive months with or without the current
    custodian present;
        (I) whether the petitioner had frequent or regular
    contact with the child for at least 12 consecutive months;
    and
        (J) any other fact that establishes that the loss of
    the relationship between the petitioner and the child is
    likely to harm the child's mental, physical, or emotional
    health.
    (5) The court may order visitation rights for the
grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling that include
reasonable access without requiring overnight or possessory
visitation.
    (a-7)(1) Unless by stipulation of the parties, no motion to
modify a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation
order may be made earlier than 2 years after the date the order
was filed, unless the court permits it to be made on the basis
of affidavits that there is reason to believe the child's
present environment may endanger seriously the child's mental,
physical, or emotional health.
    (2) The court shall not modify a prior grandparent,
great-grandparent, or sibling visitation order unless it finds
by clear and convincing evidence, upon the basis of facts that
have arisen since the prior visitation order or that were
unknown to the court at the time of entry of the prior
visitation, that a change has occurred in the circumstances of
the child or his or her custodian, and that the modification is
necessary to protect the mental, physical, or emotional health
of the child. The court shall state in its decision specific
findings of fact in support of its modification or termination
of the grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling visitation.
    (3) Attorney fees and costs shall be assessed against a
party seeking modification of the visitation order if the court
finds that the modification action is vexatious and constitutes
harassment.
    (4) Notice under this subsection (a-7) shall be given as
provided in subsections (c) and (d) of Section 601.
    (b) (1) (Blank.) The court may grant reasonable visitation
privileges to a grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of
any minor child upon petition to the court by the grandparents
or great-grandparents or on behalf of the sibling, with notice
to the parties required to be notified under Section 601 of
this Act, if the court determines that it is in the best
interests and welfare of the child, and may issue any necessary
orders to enforce such visitation privileges. Except as
provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection (b), a petition
for visitation privileges may be filed under this paragraph (1)
whether or not a petition pursuant to this Act has been
previously filed or is currently pending if one or more of the
following circumstances exist:
        (A) the parents are not currently cohabiting on a
    permanent or an indefinite basis;
        (B) one of the parents has been absent from the marital
    abode for more than one month without the spouse knowing
    his or her whereabouts;
        (C) one of the parents is deceased;
        (D) one of the parents joins in the petition with the
    grandparents, great-grandparents, or sibling; or
        (E) a sibling is in State custody.
    (1.5) The Court may grant reasonable visitation privileges
to a stepparent upon petition to the court by the stepparent,
with notice to the parties required to be notified under
Section 601 of this Act, if the court determines that it is in
the best interests and welfare of the child, and may issue any
necessary orders to enforce those visitation privileges. A
petition for visitation privileges may be filed under this
paragraph (1.5) whether or not a petition pursuant to this Act
has been previously filed or is currently pending if the
following circumstances are met:
        (A) the child is at least 12 years old;
        (B) the child resided continuously with the parent and
    stepparent for at least 5 years;
        (C) the parent is deceased or is disabled and is unable
    to care for the child;
        (D) the child wishes to have reasonable visitation with
    the stepparent; and
        (E) the stepparent was providing for the care, control,
    and welfare to the child prior to the initiation of the
    petition for visitation.
    (2)(A) A petition for visitation privileges shall not be
filed pursuant to this subsection (b) by the parents or
grandparents of a putative father if the paternity of the
putative father has not been legally established.
    (B) A petition for visitation privileges may not be filed
under this subsection (b) if the child who is the subject of
the grandparents' or great-grandparents' petition has been
voluntarily surrendered by the parent or parents, except for a
surrender to the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services or a foster care facility, or has been previously
adopted by an individual or individuals who are not related to
the biological parents of the child or is the subject of a
pending adoption petition by an individual or individuals who
are not related to the biological parents of the child.
    (3) (Blank). When one parent is deceased, the surviving
parent shall not interfere with the visitation rights of the
grandparents.
    (c) The court may modify an order granting or denying
visitation rights of a parent whenever modification would serve
the best interest of the child; but the court shall not
restrict a parent's visitation rights unless it finds that the
visitation would endanger seriously the child's physical,
mental, moral or emotional health. The court may modify an
order granting, denying, or limiting visitation rights of a
grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of any minor child
whenever a change of circumstances has occurred based on facts
occurring subsequent to the judgment and the court finds by
clear and convincing evidence that the modification is in the
best interest of the minor child.
    (d) If any court has entered an order prohibiting a
non-custodial parent of a child from any contact with a child
or restricting the non-custodial parent's contact with the
child, the following provisions shall apply:
        (1) If an order has been entered granting visitation
    privileges with the child to a grandparent or
    great-grandparent who is related to the child through the
    non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges of the
    grandparent or great-grandparent may be revoked if:
            (i) a court has entered an order prohibiting the
        non-custodial parent from any contact with the child,
        and the grandparent or great-grandparent is found to
        have used his or her visitation privileges to
        facilitate contact between the child and the
        non-custodial parent; or
            (ii) a court has entered an order restricting the
        non-custodial parent's contact with the child, and the
        grandparent or great-grandparent is found to have used
        his or her visitation privileges to facilitate contact
        between the child and the non-custodial parent in a
        manner that violates the terms of the order restricting
        the non-custodial parent's contact with the child.
        Nothing in this subdivision (1) limits the authority of
    the court to enforce its orders in any manner permitted by
    law.
        (2) Any order granting visitation privileges with the
    child to a grandparent or great-grandparent who is related
    to the child through the non-custodial parent shall contain
    the following provision:
        "If the (grandparent or great-grandparent, whichever
    is applicable) who has been granted visitation privileges
    under this order uses the visitation privileges to
    facilitate contact between the child and the child's
    non-custodial parent, the visitation privileges granted
    under this order shall be permanently revoked."
    (e) No parent, not granted custody of the child, or
grandparent, or great-grandparent, or stepparent, or sibling
of any minor child, convicted of any offense involving an
illegal sex act perpetrated upon a victim less than 18 years of
age including but not limited to offenses for violations of
Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961, is entitled to
visitation rights while incarcerated or while on parole,
probation, conditional discharge, periodic imprisonment, or
mandatory supervised release for that offense, and upon
discharge from incarceration for a misdemeanor offense or upon
discharge from parole, probation, conditional discharge,
periodic imprisonment, or mandatory supervised release for a
felony offense, visitation shall be denied until the person
successfully completes a treatment program approved by the
court.
    (f) Unless the court determines, after considering all
relevant factors, including but not limited to those set forth
in Section 602(a), that it would be in the best interests of
the child to allow visitation, the court shall not enter an
order providing visitation rights and pursuant to a motion to
modify visitation shall revoke visitation rights previously
granted to any person who would otherwise be entitled to
petition for visitation rights under this Section who has been
convicted of first degree murder of the parent, grandparent,
great-grandparent, or sibling of the child who is the subject
of the order. Until an order is entered pursuant to this
subsection, no person shall visit, with the child present, a
person who has been convicted of first degree murder of the
parent, grandparent, great-grandparent, or sibling of the
child without the consent of the child's parent, other than a
parent convicted of first degree murder as set forth herein, or
legal guardian.
    (g) If an order has been entered limiting, for cause, a
minor child's contact or visitation with a grandparent,
great-grandparent, or sibling on the grounds that it was in the
best interest of the child to do so, that order may be modified
only upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances
occurring subsequent to the entry of the order with proof by
clear and convincing evidence that modification is in the best
interest of the minor child.
(Source: P.A. 90-782, eff. 8-14-98; 90-801, eff. 6-1-99;
91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 91-610, eff. 8-19-99.)