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| Public Act 094-0530 |
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AN ACT concerning adoption.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Sections | ||||
7 and 8 as follows:
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(750 ILCS 50/7) (from Ch. 40, par. 1509)
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Sec. 7. Process.
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A. All persons named in the petition for adoption or | ||||
standby adoption,
other
than the
petitioners and any party who | ||||
has previously either denied being a parent
pursuant to Section | ||||
12a of this Act or whose rights have been terminated
pursuant | ||||
to Section 12a of this Act, but including the person sought to | ||||
be
adopted, shall be made parties defendant by name, and if the | ||||
name or names
of any such persons are alleged in the petition | ||||
to be unknown such persons
shall be made parties defendant | ||||
under the name and style of "All whom it
may concern". In all | ||||
such actions petitioner or his attorney
shall file, at
the | ||||
office of the clerk of the court in which the action is | ||||
pending, an
affidavit showing that the defendant resides or has | ||||
gone out of this State,
or on due inquiry cannot be found, or | ||||
is concealed within this State, so
that process cannot be | ||||
served upon him, and stating the place of residence
of the | ||||
defendant, if known, or that upon diligent inquiry his place of
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residence cannot be ascertained, the clerk shall cause | ||||
publication to be
made in some newspaper published in the | ||||
county in which the action is
pending. If there is no newspaper | ||||
published in that county, then the
publication shall be in a | ||||
newspaper published in an adjoining county in
this State, | ||||
having a circulation in the county in which such action is
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pending. In the event there is service on any of the parties by
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publication, the publication shall contain notice of pendency | ||||
of the
action, the name of the person to be adopted and the | ||||
name of the parties to
be served by publication, and the date | ||
on or after which default may be
entered against such parties. | ||
Neither the name of petitioners nor the name
of any party who | ||
has either surrendered said child, has given their consent
to | ||
the adoption of the child, or whose parental rights have been | ||
terminated
by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be | ||
included in the notice of
publication. The Clerk shall also, | ||
within ten (10) days of the first
publication of the notice, | ||
send a copy thereof by mail, addressed to each
defendant whose | ||
place of residence is stated in such affidavit. The
certificate | ||
of the Clerk that he sent the copies pursuant to this section
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is evidence that he has done so. Except as provided in this | ||
section
pertaining to service by publication, all parties | ||
defendant shall be
notified of the proceedings in the same | ||
manner as is now or may hereafter
be required in other civil | ||
cases or proceedings. Any party defendant who is
of age of 14 | ||
years or upward may waive service of process by entering an
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appearance in writing. The form to be used for publication | ||
shall be
substantially as follows:
"ADOPTION NOTICE - STATE OF | ||
ILLINOIS, County of ...., ss. - Circuit Court
of .... County. | ||
In the matter of the Petition for the Adoption of ...., a
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..male child. Adoption No. .....
To-- .... (whom it may concern | ||
or the named parent)
Take notice that a petition was filed in | ||
the Circuit Court of .... County,
Illinois, for the adoption of | ||
a child named ..... Now, therefore, unless
you ...., and all | ||
whom it may concern, file your answer to the Petition in
the | ||
action or otherwise file your appearance therein,
in the said | ||
Circuit
Court of ...., County, Room ...., ...., in the City of | ||
...., Illinois, on
or before the .... day of ...., a default | ||
may be entered against you at any
time after that day and a | ||
judgment entered in accordance with the prayer of
said | ||
Petition.
Dated, ...., Illinois, .... ...., Clerk.
(Name and | ||
address of attorney for petitioners.)
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B. A minor defendant who has been served in accordance with | ||
this Section
may be defaulted in the same manner as any other | ||
defendant.
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C. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this or | ||
any other law,
and in addition to the notice requirements of | ||
any law pertaining to persons
other than those specified in | ||
this subsection, the persons entitled to notice
that a petition | ||
has been filed under Section 5 of this Act shall include:
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(a) any person adjudicated by a court in this State to | ||
be the father of
the child;
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(b) any person adjudicated by a court of another state | ||
or territory of the
United States to be the father of the | ||
child, when a certified copy of the court
order has been | ||
filed with the Putative Father Registry under Section 12.1 | ||
of
this Act;
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(c) any person who at the time of the filing of the | ||
petition is registered
in the Putative Father Registry | ||
under Section 12.1 of this Act as the putative
father of | ||
the child;
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(d) any person who is recorded on the child's birth | ||
certificate as the
child's father;
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(e) any person who is openly living with the child or | ||
the child's mother
at the time the proceeding is initiated | ||
and who is holding himself out to be
the child's father;
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(f) any person who has been identified as the child's | ||
father by the mother
in a written, sworn statement, | ||
including an Affidavit of Identification as
specified | ||
under Section 11 of this Act;
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(g) any person who was married to the child's mother on | ||
the date of the
child's birth or within 300 days prior to | ||
the child's birth.
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The sole purpose of notice under this Section shall be to | ||
enable the person
receiving notice to appear in the adoption | ||
proceedings to present evidence to
the court relevant to | ||
whether the consent or surrender of the person to the adoption | ||
is required pursuant to Section 8 of this Act. If the court | ||
determines that the consent or surrender of the person is not | ||
required pursuant to Section 8, then the person shall not be | ||
entitled to participate in the proceedings or to any further | ||
notice of the proceedings
the best interests of the child.
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(Source: P.A. 91-572, eff. 1-1-00.)
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(750 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 40, par. 1510)
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Sec. 8. Consents to adoption and surrenders for purposes of
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adoption.
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(a) Except as hereinafter provided in this
Section consents | ||
or surrenders shall be required in all cases, unless the
person | ||
whose
consent or surrender would otherwise be required shall be | ||
found by the
court:
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(1) to be an unfit person
as defined in Section
1 of | ||
this Act, by clear and convincing evidence; or
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(2) not to be the biological or adoptive father of the | ||
child; or
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(3) to have waived his parental rights to the child | ||
under Section 12a or
12.1 of
this Act; or
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(4) to be the parent of an adult
sought to be adopted; | ||
or
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(5) to be
the father of the child as a result of | ||
criminal sexual abuse or assault as
defined under Article | ||
12 of the Criminal Code of 1961; or
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(6) to be the father of a child who: | ||
(i) is a family member of the mother of the child, | ||
and the mother is under the age of 18 at the time of | ||
the child's conception; for purposes of this | ||
subsection, a "family member" is a parent, | ||
step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, sibling, | ||
or cousin of the first degree, whether by whole blood, | ||
half-blood, or adoption, as well as a person age 18 or | ||
over at the time of the child's conception who has | ||
resided in the household with the mother continuously | ||
for at least one year; or | ||
(ii) is at least 5 years older than the child's | ||
mother, and the mother was under the age of 17 at the | ||
time of the child's conception, unless the mother and | ||
father voluntarily acknowledge the father's paternity | ||
of the child by marrying or by establishing the | ||
father's paternity by consent of the parties pursuant | ||
to the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or pursuant to a | ||
substantially similar statute in another state. | ||
A criminal conviction of any offense pursuant to | ||
Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961 is not required.
to | ||
have been indicated for child sexual abuse as defined in | ||
the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act that involved | ||
sexual penetration of
the mother; or
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(7) to be at least 5 years older than the mother and | ||
the mother was under
the age 17 at the time of conception | ||
of the child to be adopted.
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(b) Where consents are required in the case of an adoption
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of a minor child, the consents of the following persons shall | ||
be
sufficient:
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(1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
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(B) The father of the minor child, if the father:
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(i) was married to the mother on the date of | ||
birth of the child or
within
300 days before the | ||
birth of the child, except for a husband or former
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husband who has been found by a court of competent | ||
jurisdiction not to be the
biological father of the | ||
child; or
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(ii) is the father of the child under a | ||
judgment for adoption, an
order of parentage, or an | ||
acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant
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to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois | ||
Parentage Act of 1984; or
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(iii) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents less
than
6 months after birth, | ||
openly lived with the child, the child's | ||
biological
mother, or
both,
and
held himself out to | ||
be the child's biological father during the first | ||
30 days
following the birth of the child; or
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(iv) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents less than
6
months after birth, | ||
made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount | ||
of the
expenses
related to the birth of the child | ||
and to provide a reasonable amount for the
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financial support of the child before the | ||
expiration of 30 days following the
birth of the | ||
child,
provided that the court may consider in its | ||
determination all
relevant circumstances, | ||
including the financial condition of both | ||
biological
parents; or
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(v) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents
more
than 6 months after birth, | ||
has maintained substantial and continuous or
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repeated contact with the child as manifested by:
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(I) the payment by the father
toward the support of | ||
the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according | ||
to the
father's means, and either (II) the father's | ||
visiting the child at least
monthly
when | ||
physically and financially able to do so and not | ||
prevented from doing so
by the person or authorized | ||
agency having lawful custody of the child, or (III)
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the father's regular communication with the child | ||
or with the person or agency
having the care or | ||
custody of the child, when physically and | ||
financially unable
to visit the child or prevented | ||
from doing so by the person or authorized
agency | ||
having lawful custody of the child. The subjective | ||
intent of the
father,
whether expressed or | ||
otherwise unsupported by evidence of acts | ||
specified in
this sub-paragraph as manifesting | ||
such intent, shall not preclude a
determination | ||
that the father failed to maintain substantial and | ||
continuous or
repeated contact with the child; or
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(vi) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, | ||
openly lived with the child for a period of six | ||
months
within the one year period immediately | ||
preceding the placement of the child for
adoption | ||
and openly held himself out to be the father of the | ||
child; or
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(vii) has timely registered with Putative | ||
Father Registry, as provided
in
Section 12.1 of | ||
this Act,
and prior to the expiration of 30 days | ||
from the date
of such registration, commenced | ||
legal
proceedings to establish paternity under the | ||
Illinois Parentage Act of 1984
or under the law of | ||
the jurisdiction of the child's birth; or
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(2) The legal guardian of the person of the child, if | ||
there
is no surviving parent; or
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(3) An agency, if the child has been surrendered for
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adoption to such agency; or
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(4) Any person or agency having legal custody of a | ||
child by court order
if the parental rights of the parents | ||
have been judicially terminated, and
the court having | ||
jurisdiction of the guardianship of the child has | ||
authorized
the consent to the adoption; or
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(5) The execution and
verification of the petition by | ||
any petitioner who is
also a parent of the child sought to | ||
be adopted shall be sufficient evidence
of such parent's | ||
consent to the adoption.
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(c) Where surrenders to an agency are required in the case | ||
of a placement
for adoption of a minor child by an agency, the | ||
surrenders of the following
persons shall be sufficient:
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(1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
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(B) The father of the minor child, if the father:
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(i) was married to the mother on the date of | ||
birth of the child or
within 300 days before the | ||
birth of the child, except for a husband or former
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husband who has been found by a court of competent | ||
jurisdiction not to be the
biological father of the | ||
child; or
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(ii) is the father of the child under a | ||
judgment for adoption, an
order of parentage, or an | ||
acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant
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to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois | ||
Parentage Act of 1984; or
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(iii) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents less
than
6 months after birth, | ||
openly lived with the child, the child's | ||
biological
mother, or
both,
and
held himself out to | ||
be the child's biological father during the first | ||
30 days
following the birth of a child; or
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(iv) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents less than
6
months after birth, | ||
made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount | ||
of the
expenses
related to the birth of the child | ||
and to provide a reasonable amount for the
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financial support of the child before
the | ||
expiration of 30 days following the birth of
the
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child,
provided that the court may consider in its | ||
determination all relevant
circumstances, | ||
including the financial condition of both | ||
biological parents;
or
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(v) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, | ||
has maintained substantial and continuous or | ||
repeated
contact with the child as manifested by: | ||
(I) the payment by the father toward
the support of | ||
the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according | ||
to the
father's means, and either (II) the father's | ||
visiting the child at least
monthly when | ||
physically and financially able to do so and not | ||
prevented from
doing so by the person or authorized | ||
agency having lawful custody of the child
or (III) | ||
the father's regular communication with the child | ||
or with the person
or agency having the care or | ||
custody of the child, when physically and
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financially unable to visit the child or prevented | ||
from doing so by the person
or authorized agency | ||
having lawful custody of the child. The subjective
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intent of the father, whether expressed or | ||
otherwise, unsupported by evidence
of acts | ||
specified in this sub-paragraph as manifesting | ||
such intent, shall not
preclude a determination | ||
that the father failed to maintain substantial and
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continuous or repeated contact with the child; or
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(vi) in the case of a child placed with the | ||
adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, | ||
openly lived with the child for a period of six | ||
months
within the one year period immediately | ||
preceding the placement of the child for
adoption | ||
and openly held himself out to be the father of the | ||
child; or
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(vii) has timely registered with the Putative | ||
Father Registry, as
provided
in Section 12.1 of | ||
this Act,
and prior to the expiration of 30 days | ||
from the date
of such
registration, commenced | ||
legal
proceedings to establish paternity under the | ||
Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or
under the law of | ||
the jurisdiction of the child's birth.
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(d) In making a determination under subparagraphs (b)(1) | ||
and (c)(1), no
showing shall be required of diligent efforts by | ||
a person or agency to
encourage the father to perform the acts | ||
specified therein.
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(e) In the case of the adoption of an adult, only the | ||
consent of
such adult shall be required.
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(Source: P.A. 93-510, eff. 1-1-04.)
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