[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Engrossed ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB0576
LRB9100067SMdvA
1 AN ACT to amend the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
2 Marriage Act by changing Section 513.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of
6 Marriage Act is amended by changing Section 513 as follows:
7 (750 ILCS 5/513) (from Ch. 40, par. 513)
8 Sec. 513. Support for Non-minor Children and Educational
9 Expenses.
10 (a) The court may award sums of money out of the
11 property and income of either or both parties or the estate
12 of a deceased parent, as equity may require, for the support
13 of the child or children of the parties who have attained
14 majority in the following instances:
15 (1) When the child is mentally or physically
16 disabled and not otherwise emancipated, an application
17 for support may be made before or after the child has
18 attained majority.
19 (2) The court may also make provision for the
20 educational expenses of the child or children of the
21 parties, whether of minor or majority age, and an
22 application for educational expenses may be made before
23 or after the child has attained majority, or after the
24 death of either parent. The authority under this Section
25 to make provision for educational expenses extends not
26 only to periods of college education or professional or
27 other training after graduation from high school, but
28 also to any period during which the child of the parties
29 is still attending high school, even though he or she
30 attained the age of 18. The educational expenses may
31 include, but shall not be limited to, room, board, dues,
-2- LRB9100067SMdvA
1 tuition, transportation, books, fees, registration and
2 application costs, medical expenses including medical
3 insurance, dental expenses, and living expenses during
4 the school year and periods of recess, which sums may be
5 ordered payable to the child, to either parent, or to the
6 educational institution, directly or through a special
7 account or trust created for that purpose, as the court
8 sees fit.
9 If educational expenses are ordered payable to the
10 child or a parent, the parent making the payments may
11 request the court to order a periodic accounting of how
12 the funds are spent. If the accounting shows that the
13 funds are not being spent as provided in this subdivision
14 (a)(2), the parent making the payments may request that
15 the court order that the payments be placed in a special
16 account or a trust to be used for the payment of only
17 educational expenses as provided in this subdivision
18 (a)(2) or that the order for payment of educational
19 expenses be terminated.
20 The authority under this Section to make provision
21 for educational expenses, except where the child is
22 mentally or physically disabled and not otherwise
23 emancipated, terminates when the child receives a
24 baccalaureate degree or attains the age of 23, whichever
25 occurs first.
26 An award of educational support under this Section shall
27 contain a self-executing provision that support shall not be
28 payable for any period during which the child ceases to be
29 enrolled as a student for a period of 6 consecutive months
30 for any reason other than illness or necessary employment.
31 Any support paid during this period shall be deducted from
32 the support payable to the child for the next like period
33 after reenrollment.
34 The court may deny an award of support under this Section
-3- LRB9100067SMdvA
1 if it is shown that the child has, without reasonable cause,
2 repudiated the supporting parent by publicly disowning the
3 parent, refusing to acknowledge the parent, or by acting in a
4 similar manner, such as refusing or failing to have
5 reasonable contact with the parent.
6 (b) In making awards under paragraph (1) or (2) of
7 subsection (a), or pursuant to a petition or motion to
8 decrease, modify, or terminate any such award, the court
9 shall consider all relevant factors that appear reasonable
10 and necessary, including:
11 (1) The financial resources of both parents.
12 (2) The standard of living the child would have
13 enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved.
14 (3) The financial resources of the child.
15 (4) The child's lifestyle, while in college or
16 while pursuing professional or other training, and the
17 child's reliability and responsibility with respect to
18 the management of money and finances. Where the court
19 finds that the lifestyle is profligate, extravagant, or
20 involves excessive cost or expense, or that the child
21 shows poor judgment with respect to the management of
22 money or financial resources, or that the child's
23 priorities in expenditure of money or in application of
24 financial resources are poorly conceived or wasteful, or
25 that the child is misusing the support provided under
26 this Section, the court shall terminate the provisions
27 for educational or training expenses or adjust the
28 provisions accordingly.
29 (5) The child's academic performance. Unless
30 otherwise specified by the parties, a support award under
31 this Section shall contain a self-executing directive
32 that the award shall be terminated upon the child's
33 completion of the first calendar year of course
34 instruction if the child fails to maintain a cumulative
-4- LRB9100067SMdvA
1 grade point average in the median range or above during
2 that or any succeeding calendar year for any reason other
3 than serious illness. The order shall direct the child
4 to provide his or her supporting parent with a legible
5 copy of all quarterly or semester grade reports within 14
6 days of receiving the report.
7 (6) The cost of post-secondary education. The
8 amount of support allowed for a child under this Section
9 shall be based upon the cost of post-secondary education
10 associated with attending an in-state public institution
11 for a course of instruction leading to an undergraduate
12 degree or certificate of graduation from a training
13 school and shall include the reasonable costs for only
14 necessary post-secondary education expenses.
15 (Source: P.A. 86-637; 87-910.)