Child Law

(Pritchard, R-Sycamore; Silverstein, D-Chicago) does three things in the Income-Withholding for Support Act. (1) It requires that an action to collect a penalty from a payor may not be brought more than one year after the date of the payor's alleged failure to withhold or pay income. (2) It requires that the obligee must give written notice of the non-receipt of payment to the payor by certified mail with return receipt requested. Within 14 days of receipt by the payor the payor must (i) notify the obligee of the reason for the non-receipt of payment or (ii) make the required payment, together with interest at the rate of 9 percent calculated from the date on which the payment of income should have been made. If a payor fails to comply with this provision, the payor is subject to the $100 per day penalty provided under the Act. (3) It caps the total penalty for one occasion at $10,000 for a payor's failure to withhold or pay to the SDU an amount designated in the income-withholding notice. Effective August 17, 2012.

(Dillard, R-Hinsdale; Pihos, R-Glen Ellyn) authorizes a court to require a self-employed person who is found in contempt for failing to pay child support to (a) provide monthly financial statements from the business or the self-employment; (b) seek employment and report to the court information about his or her employment search; or (c) report to the Department of Employment Security for job-search services to find employment that will be subject to child support withholding. Effective January 1, 2013.

(McAsey, D-Lockport; Mulroe, D-Chicago) makes it a Class 4 felony to violate an order of protection if the defendant had been convicted in another state of domestic battery or certain crimes of violence or been the subject of an out-of-state order of protection. It also makes the actions of a defendant who directed the actions of a third party to violate this section accountable as if those actions had been personally done by the defendant without regard to the mental state of the third party. Effective August 10, 2012.

(Mulroe, D-Chicago; Soto, D-Chicago) does two things affecting dissipation claims and child support. (1) It requires notice of intent to claim dissipation to be filed no later than 60 days before trial or 30 days after discovery closes, whichever is later. The notice must include an identification of the property dissipated and the date or periods of time during which the marriage began undergoing an irretrievable breakdown and when the dissipation occurred. No dissipation may be considered if it occurred five years before the filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage or three years after the party claiming dissipation knew or should have known of the dissipation. (2) It specifically grants the court the right to order one or both parties to make reasonable payments for health needs not covered by insurance, child-care, education, and extracurricular activities in addition to statutory child support. Effective January 1, 2013.

(Tracy, R-Mt. Sterling; Martinez, D-Chicago) does not allow an obligor to use as a deduction in the calculation of net income any payments for premiums of court-ordered life insurance that reasonably secures payment of support for non-minor children and educational expenses, terms agreed to by the parties, or payment of maintenance (through existing or new life insurance). Effective August 2, 2012.

(Sullivan, D-Rushville; Brady, R-Bloomington) does three things to the new provisions for getting medical records of deceased family members if no estate is opened. (1) It clarifies that a "handling" fee may not be charged to a patient or patient's representative under Section 8-2001.5. (2) It requires that health-care providers release this information to a patient representative as authorized under this Section. (3) It requires that a person purporting to be a patient representative certify that to be true under penalty of law. Effective July 30, 2012.