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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Probate Act of 1975 is amended by changing | ||||||
5 | Sections 11-5, 11-7, and 11-14.1 as follows:
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6 | (755 ILCS 5/11-5) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11-5)
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7 | Sec. 11-5. Appointment of guardian.
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8 | (a) Upon the filing of a petition for the appointment of a | ||||||
9 | guardian or on
its own motion, the court may appoint a guardian | ||||||
10 | of the estate or of both the
person and estate, of a minor, or | ||||||
11 | may appoint a guardian of the person only of
a minor or minors, | ||||||
12 | as the court finds to be in the best interest of the minor
or | ||||||
13 | minors.
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14 | (a-1) A parent, adoptive parent or adjudicated parent, | ||||||
15 | whose parental rights
have not been terminated, may designate | ||||||
16 | in any writing, including a will, a
person qualified to act | ||||||
17 | under Section 11-3 to be appointed as guardian of
the person or | ||||||
18 | estate, or both, of an unmarried minor or of a child likely to | ||||||
19 | be
born. A parent, adoptive parent or adjudicated parent, whose | ||||||
20 | parental rights
have not been terminated, or a guardian or a | ||||||
21 | standby guardian of an unmarried
minor or of a child likely to | ||||||
22 | be born may designate in any writing, including a
will, a | ||||||
23 | person qualified to act under Section 11-3 to be appointed as |
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1 | successor
guardian of the minor's person or estate, or both. | ||||||
2 | The designation must be
witnessed by 2 or more credible | ||||||
3 | witnesses at least 18 years of age, neither of
whom is the | ||||||
4 | person designated as the guardian. The designation may be | ||||||
5 | proved
by any competent evidence. If the designation is | ||||||
6 | executed and attested in the
same manner as a will, it shall | ||||||
7 | have prima facie validity. The designation of a
guardian or | ||||||
8 | successor guardian does not affect the rights of the other | ||||||
9 | parent
in the minor.
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10 | (b) The court lacks jurisdiction to proceed on a petition | ||||||
11 | for the
appointment of a guardian of a minor if (i) the minor | ||||||
12 | has a living fit parent,
adoptive parent or adjudicated parent, | ||||||
13 | whose parental rights have not been
terminated, whose | ||||||
14 | whereabouts are known, and who is willing and able to make
and | ||||||
15 | carry out day-to-day child care decisions concerning the minor, | ||||||
16 | unless the
parent or parents consent to the appointment or, | ||||||
17 | after receiving notice of the
hearing under Section 11-10.1, | ||||||
18 | fail to object to the appointment at the
hearing on the | ||||||
19 | petition or (ii) there is a guardian for the minor appointed by
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20 | a court of competent jurisdiction. There shall be a rebuttable | ||||||
21 | presumption
that a parent of a minor is willing and able to | ||||||
22 | make and carry out
day-to-day child care decisions concerning | ||||||
23 | the minor, but the presumption may
be rebutted by a | ||||||
24 | preponderance of the evidence.
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25 | (b-1) If the court finds the appointment of a guardian of | ||||||
26 | the minor to be
in the best interest of the minor, and if a |
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1 | standby guardian has previously
been appointed for the minor | ||||||
2 | under Section 11-5.3, the court shall appoint the
standby | ||||||
3 | guardian as the guardian of the person or estate, or both, of | ||||||
4 | the minor
unless the court finds, upon good cause shown, that | ||||||
5 | the appointment would no
longer be in the best interest of the | ||||||
6 | minor.
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7 | (c) If the minor is 14 years of age or more, the minor may | ||||||
8 | nominate the
guardian of the minor's person and estate, subject | ||||||
9 | to approval of the court. If
the minor's nominee is not | ||||||
10 | approved by the court or if, after notice to the minor, the | ||||||
11 | minor fails to nominate a
guardian of the minor's person or | ||||||
12 | estate, the court may appoint the guardian
without nomination.
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13 | (d) The court shall not appoint as guardian of the person | ||||||
14 | of the minor any
person whom the court has determined had | ||||||
15 | caused or substantially contributed to
the minor becoming a | ||||||
16 | neglected or abused minor as defined in the Juvenile Court
Act | ||||||
17 | of 1987 unless 2 years have elapsed since the last proven | ||||||
18 | incident of abuse
or neglect and the court determines that | ||||||
19 | appointment of such person as guardian
is in the best interests | ||||||
20 | of the minor.
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21 | (e) Previous statements made by the minor relating to any | ||||||
22 | allegations
that the minor is an abused or neglected child | ||||||
23 | within the meaning of the
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting | ||||||
24 | Act, or an abused or neglected minor
within the meaning of the | ||||||
25 | Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall be admissible
in evidence in | ||||||
26 | a hearing concerning appointment of a guardian of the person
or |
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1 | estate of the minor. No such statement, however, if | ||||||
2 | uncorroborated and
not subject to cross-examination, shall be | ||||||
3 | sufficient in itself to support
a finding of abuse or neglect.
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4 | (Source: P.A. 90-430, eff. 8-16-97; 90-472, eff. 8-17-97; | ||||||
5 | 90-796, eff. 12-15-98.)
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6 | (755 ILCS 5/11-7) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11-7)
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7 | Sec. 11-7.
Parental right to custody.) If both
parents of a | ||||||
8 | minor are living and are competent to transact their own
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9 | business and are fit persons, they are entitled to the custody
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10 | of the person of the minor and the direction of his education.
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11 | If one parent is dead and the surviving parent is competent to
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12 | transact his own business and is a fit person, he is similarly
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13 | entitled. The parents have equal powers, rights and duties
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14 | concerning the minor. If the parents live apart, the court for
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15 | good reason may award the custody and education of the minor
to | ||||||
16 | either parent or to some other person.
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17 | Fitness of the parent shall be determined, by a | ||||||
18 | preponderance of the evidence, at the time of filing the | ||||||
19 | petition to establish the guardianship. If a parent is found to | ||||||
20 | be unfit, unwilling, or unable to care for a child, he or she | ||||||
21 | shall not be entitled to custody and shall satisfy the | ||||||
22 | provisions of subsection (b) of Section 11-14.1 of this Act | ||||||
23 | before terminating the guardianship and regaining custody. | ||||||
24 | (Source: P.A. 79-328.)
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1 | (755 ILCS 5/11-14.1) (from Ch. 110 1/2, par. 11-14.1)
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2 | Sec. 11-14.1. Revocation of letters. | ||||||
3 | (a) Upon the minor reaching the age
of majority, the | ||||||
4 | letters of office shall be revoked only as to that minor
and | ||||||
5 | the guardianship over that minor shall be terminated. The | ||||||
6 | letters of
office and the guardianship shall remain as to any | ||||||
7 | other minors included in the
same letters of office or | ||||||
8 | guardianship order.
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9 | (b) Other than as provided in subsection (a), when a parent | ||||||
10 | has been found unfit, unwilling, or unable to care for a child, | ||||||
11 | a guardianship of a minor shall not be terminated by a court, | ||||||
12 | unless, upon clear and convincing evidence, the court finds | ||||||
13 | that there has been a material change in circumstances since | ||||||
14 | the entry of the order appointing the guardian and that the | ||||||
15 | termination is in the best interest of the minor, considering, | ||||||
16 | but not limited to the following: | ||||||
17 | (1) the extent to which the minor has integrated into | ||||||
18 | the guardian's family; | ||||||
19 | (2) the effect the removal of the minor from the | ||||||
20 | guardian's care would have on the minor; | ||||||
21 | (3) the relationship of the minor to the proposed new | ||||||
22 | care giver or parent; | ||||||
23 | (4) the relative economic abilities of the parties to | ||||||
24 | provide for the minor's needs; | ||||||
25 | (5) the physical and emotional abilities of the parties | ||||||
26 | to provide for the minor's needs; and |
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1 | (6) the environment the minor would be in after | ||||||
2 | termination of the guardianship compared to the minor's | ||||||
3 | current environment with the guardian. | ||||||
4 | (Source: P.A. 90-796, eff. 12-15-98.)
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