Public Act 90-0023 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0023
SB102 Enrolled LRB9000808RCks
AN ACT to amend the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 by
changing Sections 9.1 and 18.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 is amended
by changing Sections 9.1 and 18 as follows:
(750 ILCS 45/9.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 2509.1)
Sec. 9.1. Notice to Presumed Father. (a) In any action
brought under Section 6 or 7 of this Act where the man
signing the petition for an order establishing the existence
of the parent and child relationship by consent or the man
alleged to be the father in a complaint is different from a
man who is presumed to be father of the child under Section
5, a notice shall be served on the presumed father in the
same manner as summonses are served in other civil
proceedings or, in lieu of personal service, service may be
made as follows:
(1) The person requesting notice shall pay to the Clerk
of the Court a mailing fee of $1.50 and furnish to the Clerk
an original and one copy of a notice together with an
affidavit setting forth the presumed father's last known
address. The original notice shall be retained by the Clerk.
(2) The Clerk shall promptly mail to the presumed
father, at the address appearing in the affidavit, the copy
of the notice, certified mail, return receipt requested. The
envelope and return receipt shall bear the return address of
the Clerk. The receipt for certified mail shall state the
name and address of the addressee, and the date of mailing,
and shall be attached to the original notice.
(3) The return receipt, when returned to the Clerk,
shall be attached to the original notice, and shall
constitute proof of service.
(4) The Clerk shall note the fact of service in a
permanent record.
(b) The notice shall read as follows:
IN THE MATTER OF NOTICE TO .......... PRESUMED FATHER.
You have been identified as the presumed father of
......... born on .........
The mother of the child is .........
An action is being brought to establish the parent and
child relationship between the named child and a man named by
the mother, .........
Under the law, you are presumed to be the father if (1)
you and the child's mother are or have been married to each
other, and the child was born or conceived during the
marriage; or if (2) upon the child's birth, you and the
child's mother married each other and you were named, with
your consent, as the child's father on the child's birth
certificate.
As the presumed father, you have certain legal rights
with respect to the named child, including the right to
notice of the filing of proceedings instituted for the
establishment of parentage of said child and if named as the
father in a petition to establish parentage, the right to
submit, along with the mother and child, to deoxyribonucleic
acid (DNA) tests to determine inherited characteristics. If
you wish to retain your rights with respect to said child,
you must file with the Clerk of this Circuit Court of
......... County, Illinois whose address is ........,
Illinois, within 30 days after the date of receipt of this
notice, a declaration of parentage stating that you are, in
fact, the father of said child and that you intend to retain
your legal rights with respect to said child, or request to
be notified of any further proceedings with respect to the
parentage of said child.
If you do not file such declaration of parentage, or a
request for notice, then whatever legal rights you have with
respect to the named child, including the right to notice of
any future proceedings for the establishment of parentage of
the child, may be terminated without any further notice to
you. When your legal rights with respect to the named child
are so terminated, you will not be entitled to notice of any
future proceedings.
(c) The notice to presumed fathers provided for in this
Section in any action brought by a public agency shall be
prepared and mailed by such public agency and the mailing fee
to the Clerk shall be waived.
(Source: P.A. 84-848.)
(750 ILCS 45/18) (from Ch. 40, par. 2518)
Sec. 18. Right to Counsel; Free Transcript on Appeal.
(a) Any party may be represented by counsel at all
proceedings under this Act. In the best interests of the
child, the court may appoint counsel to represent a child
whose parentage is at issue.
(b) Upon the request of a mother or child seeking to
establish the existence of a father and child relationship,
the State's Attorney shall represent the mother or child in
the trial court. If the child is an applicant for or a
recipient of assistance as defined in Section 2-6 of "The
Illinois Public Aid Code", approved April 11, 1967, as
amended, or has applied to the Illinois Department of Public
Aid for services under Article X of such Code, the Department
may file a complaint in the child's behalf under this Act.
The Department shall refer the complaint to the Public Aid
Claims Enforcement Division of the Office of the Attorney
General as provided in Section 12-16 of "The Illinois Public
Aid Code" for enforcement by the Attorney General. Legal
representation by the State's Attorney or the Attorney
General shall be limited to the establishment and enforcement
of an order for support, and shall not extend to visitation,
custody, property or other matters. If visitation, custody,
property or other matters are raised by a party and
considered by the court in any proceeding under this Act, the
court shall provide a continuance sufficient to enable the
mother or child to obtain representation for such matters.
(c) The Court may shall appoint the Public Defender, or
if there is no Public Defender other counsel, to represent
any indigent defendant in the trial court, except that this
representation shall be limited to the establishment of a
parent and child relationship and an order for support, and
shall not extend to visitation, custody, property,
enforcement of an order for support, or other matters. If
visitation, custody, property or other matters are raised by
a party and considered by the court in any proceeding under
this Act, the court shall provide a continuance sufficient to
enable the defendant to obtain representation for such
matters.
(d) The court shall furnish on request of any indigent
party a transcript for purposes of appeal.
(Source: P.A. 86-522.)